Pottsville council members seem to be in agreement that a new police station is needed. How to go about making that happen is where there is definitely some disagreement right now.
On Monday, there were just enough votes on council to enter into a $650,000 agreement of sale on 100 W. Laurel Blvd., the current Krasno, Krasno, and Onwudinjo law office building behind City Hall, to potentially transform it into a new police station. Council was split 3-2 on that vote with Mayor Tom Smith and Councilmen Jon Marsh and Andy Wollyung giving it their OK.
Entering into that agreement was apparently necessary to complete an application for a Fiscal Year 2027 federal appropriation of up to $3 million that would allow Pottsville to purchase and renovate it to transform a portion of it into a new police station.
In an earlier vote, council members voted 4-0, with Councilman Scott Price abstaining, to authorize Pottsville Area Development Corp. to submit the application by Friday for the appropriation – not to exceed $3 million – on behalf of the City.
With that agreement of sale, council members who approved it say it does not lock the City into buying the nearly 11,000-square foot property that’s sandwiched between City Hall and Schuylkill County Courthouse. The City can back out of the agreement at any time if they find that retrofitting it to become a police station is not a viable option or council members choose to move forward with plans to renovate a different part of City Hall to function as the police station.
In voting against entering into the sale agreement, Councilwoman Dottie Botto said she was under the belief that this vote wouldn’t happen until after the City Hall option was explored. Plus, she said, she hadn’t had a chance to tour the law office building.
Price said his vote against potentially purchasing the building wasn’t about the police situation, it’s about growing the footprint of government.
“I am all in favor of getting the police out of that dungeon,” he said. “What I am not in favor of is expanding the footprint of our government and purchasing a second building. I don’t think we should be buying buildings.”
Since the City learned about the availability of the federal appropriation funding about two weeks ago, terms of using that money were amended to allow for a potential move within City Hall for the police station instead of up the street. Price said that’s where council should be looking first.
“If that option to put it in City Hall is already there, I think that should be our focus,” he said.
Wollyung appeared to be on the fence about purchasing the new building but voted to enter into the agreement of sale because terms of the deal allowed the City to back out after it did its due diligence on it and exploring the option to shift the police station to somewhere else in City Hall.
Smith, who pushed for moving the police station to the law office building more than anyone on council, described the current situation officers face at work as “deplorable.”
Days before the vote, the Mayor offered Coal Region Canary a tour of the police station to confirm what he’s saying about the conditions of the City Hall basement, where cops have been stationed for about 90 years.
There’s no natural lighting. Walls are crumbling in some spots and there’s definitely a funk in the air that’s hard to describe.
On Monday, the Mayor said, “It’s a terrible, terrible state for them. Police officers bring in their own bleach to dump down the drain to keep the sewer smell down.
“If you’re not taking care of your police officers, then you’ve got a problem,” he said. “We really need to pursue this.”
Smith called the potential federal appropriation a “gift” and said the $650,000 price on 100 W. Laurel St. property is hundreds of thousands below its value. The most recent tax assessment on the property is $939,100.
“I can’t emphasize enough the great gift we’re being offered next to us. We’re not saying we’re doing it but we need to explore our options,” he said.
Building Costs Now and Later
In addition to the $650,000 price tag on the law office property, it’ll need to be retro-fitted to become a police station and that will come with a cost, too.
Smith said Monday that an engineer from Quandel Construction Companies toured the property and that if the interior had to be reduced to its studs and rebuilt, it would cost about $2.4 million, which would still be covered by the federal money the City expects.
Wollyung said a concern raised during a Grant Committee meeting prior to the City Council meeting on Monday was on future costs of the building and he felt that was a legitimate concern and time is needed to look into it.
“This came up very fast,” he said Monday.
It’s an issue Price also raised.
“We have no viable plan to sustain the overhead cost of another government building,” Price said in a conversation with Coal Region Canary, adding that without a plan, it could end up resulting in cutting the police budget. “The word buying or purchasing shouldn’t be in our vocabulary right now.”
It’s unlikely the City will use all three floors of the building if it’s purchased and the Mayor said there is interest in leasable space that Pottsville won’t use. He did not specify who might be interested.
Smith just stressed that the City should take advantage of the opportunity being presented by US Rep. Dan Meuser with the federal money.
Property Tax Revenue Impact
If Pottsville does purchase the building, it immediately become exempt from property taxes. That means the City would lose out on $5,036.39 in property tax revenue based on its 2026 assessment value.
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