EXETER TWP., Pa. – Exeter Township took a major step Monday night toward solving its administrative building needs.
The board of supervisors unanimously authorized Township Manager William Heim to negotiate and execute a sales contract for the township to purchase 1 Hearthstone Court for a cost not to exceed $1.395 million.
Heim said the property will be used to house the administrative offices of Exeter Township, the office of the tax collector, and the meeting room of the board of supervisors. The building, which was the former headquarters for Berkshire Bank, was constructed in 2007 and features just over 7,400 square feet.
Heim briefly reviewed former plans to address the township’s real estate needs and pointed out that most greatly exceeded the costs of the new emergency services center and 1 Hearthstone Court. He also said the property has plenty of parking and more meeting space and is ADA compliant.
The funding source for this purchase, Heim noted, will be the Wastewater Treatment Sale Proceeds Fund (Fund 31).
The acquisition will also allow the Exeter Township Police Department to expand into the township building and eliminate the need for the leased trailer, which costs $19,750 per year in rent, Heim said.
The township manager said a thorough inspection of the building by experienced personnel will ensure that there are no significant deficiencies, and if there are, the township would have options to negotiate with the seller to fix the issues or back out of the agreement. Heim also said the appraisal will have to demonstrate that the building is worth the amount the township is offering for it. The township has 45 days to conduct due diligence and another 15 days to negotiate cost and go to settlement, Heim said.
With the new emergency services center underway, Heim said the last building that needs to be addressed is improvements to the public works building.
1 Hearthstone Court, Exeter TownshipOther business
A motion to advertise an ordinance setting the supervisor compensation to $0.00 was also approved.
By a unanimous vote, the supervisors approved a three-month time extension for the 3801 Perkiomen Ave. land development plan. The applicant received preliminary land development approval for the project in May of 2024. The applicant is requesting the extension in order to receive final land development approval.
This plan included the remodeling of the existing Domino’s restaurant and adding three additional offices space units connected to the restaurant. The applicant stated the need for additional time is due to working through required easements and also working Pennsylvania Department of Transportation permitting. Final land development approval is required by June 8, 2026.
A six-month time extension was approved for a land development plan for 644 West Baumstown Road. The applicant received preliminary land development plan approval on May 19, 2024. This plan is about the JP Mascaro truck facility that is currently located on West Neversink Road being relocated to the former Henkels & McCoy property along Route 422 in the Baumstown area. The applicant is seeking a time extension to submit final plans in order to work out final details on the plan. Final land development approval is needed by Aug. 24, 2026.
The supervisors approved a resolution dedicating Princess Court to the township. In addition, the supervisors approved an escrow release in the amount of $64,024.07 for Pine View Ridge (Princess Court). The subdivision has been completed, and the builder requested the escrow account funds be released. The township verified that all the improvement items in the subdivision have been completed. These items include streetlights, monument markers, survey stakes at each property, an acceptable final wearing course of the roadway, and the replacement of required and identified trees. The developer has the option to replace the identified trees or submit a fee in lieu of tree replacement. In this case, the developer chose to pay the fee of just over $11,000.
In other news, Police Chief Stephen Powell delivered police statistics for January: 2,317 calls per primary patrol district; criminal incidents of interest including 10 assaults and three sex offenses; theft offenses other than retail that included four cases assigned; 18 criminal cases closed/cleared; and five total arrests. Also, there were 460 traffic-related incidents, of which four were DUI related.
The supervisors approved a motion for the purchase of one 2027 Mack Granite truck at a total cost of $305,040.56, in accordance with the approved Local Share Act grant and all applicable requirements. There will be no cost to the township. The total cost includes the cab chassis and upfitting with a snowplow and salt spreader.