CLEARFIELD – On Tuesday the Clearfield County Commissioners took another small step in their effort to purchase the Gray Battery and Auto Parts building.
According to a prior Gant article, the commissioners authorized preliminary action toward the purchase of the East Locust Street building. At that meeting Commissioner Chair Joan Robinson-McMillen said that the Children, Youth and Family Services, Veteran’s Affairs, County Planning and the Conservation District would move into the building if they accepted the offer. She said that CYS was among the county’s largest offices.
The county proposed for a bill of sale in the amount of $183,000 in receipt of an offer to purchase the building.
On Tuesday Solicitor Kim Kesner said that he prepared a preliminary sales agreement for the owners of the building. The agreement included certain conditional items for the purchase, such as a good title history as well as testing being conducted to the commissioners’ approval concerning asbestos and lead paint.
Commissioner Mark McCracken said the commissioners had some concerns due to the building being used as an auto parts store for a number of years. He said another key issue was whether the county’s architects could work with the footprint of the building in the design of office suites.
McMillen said the county had received a letter from KTH Architects of DuBois. According to the letter, the building is structurally sound and has been well-maintained. It also indicates that between its two floors the building matches what the county needs for the offices it plans to move. The building does, however, have an irregular configuration, but the architecture firm said it will work “quite nicely.”
It was also recommended by the firm that the county have a Phase I environmental assessment done. This test will determine what environmental issues, such as asbestos or lead paint, might exist and the costs associate with dealing with them.
“The preliminary assessment looks good,” said McCracken.