W-b Area 
City Asks Board 
To Give Back Taxes 
From Percy Brown's 
The Solicitor Says The City 
Needs The Money To Pay For Past 
Costs And Help Offset Future Costs

Another Spartan Effort 
Wyoming Valley West Should Roll To League Championship Once Again

Tuesday, December 15, 1992 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A/7A QUICK WORDS: WEGMANS 





Expensive snag stands in way of 'super store' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ********************* &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ILLUSTRATION &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 13.5 acre tract of land proposed for site of Wegmans supermarket &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ********************** &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It could cost as much as $4.5 million to move a culvert before Wegmans can
move into Edwardsville &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 By DAWN SHURMAITIS &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Times Leader Staff Writer &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 EDWARDSVILLE -- First, contact at least 22 property owners and persuade
them to sell their land, home or business. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Then, acquire state and federal grants amounting to several thousand or
maybe even a million dollars. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Finally, move an underground culvert. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 If all of that can be accomplished, Wegmans Food Markets Inc. might build a
"super store" in Edwardsville. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The new York-based supermarket chain confirmed Monday it is "evaluating the
site in Edwardsville," but according to spokeswoman jo Natale the company has
made no firm commitment to building. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The 13 1/2-acre site Wegmans is considering is bordered by Main Street,
Plymouth Street, Hills Department Store and the Wyoming Valley Flood Control
project pumping station. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Natale described Wegmans as a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week "super store" that
resembles an open-air public market and prides itself on high-level customer
service, employing between 400 and 500 people. The stores are larger than most
supermarkets, typically between 100,000 and 125,000 square feet. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Price Chopper store in the East End Center in Wilkes-Barre, by
contrast, measures 50,000 square feet. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Natale, who is based at company hyeadquarters in Rochester, refused to
answer specific questions. But according to local officials, a real estate
agent and a property owner involved with the complicated transaction,
representatives of the supermarket chain have given some property owners
non-refundable deposits for their land. Further, the company has applied to
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for permission to move the culvert that
crosses the site. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The culvert, according to everyone involved in the project who was
contacted Monday, is the biggest and most expensive thing standing between
Edwardsville and a new Wegmans. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's the biggest hang-up right now," said Bob Connolly, executive director
of the Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority, the public agency administering
funds for the culvert relocation project. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We have to decide if the culvert relocation is feasible," he said. "If
it's feasible, it's a go, the project is a go." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Connolly, who deals directly with Wegmans' representatives, said the
authority is conducting a feasibility study to see if it's financially
practical and physically possible to move the culvert. The study should be
completed by mid-January. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The authority would finance the relocation project using public funds
obtained by local governing bodies such as Luzerne County, Edwardsville
borough and the Wyoming Valley West School District. Connolly said all
applications will be for grants, not loans. Any loans would have to be assumed
by Wegmans, Connolly said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Two weeks ago, the Edwardsville borough council voted to apply for a
$510,000 grant from the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA) to be used
toward the relocation. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But much more money is needed. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Connolly said the authority has gotten a "very preliminary estimate for
relocation" that put the cost as high as $4.5 million. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 While Wegmans and the authority knew about the culvert, no one realized it
would cost that much to move it, Connolly said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Toby's Creek culvert originates behind Piledggi's Restaurant on
Division Street in Kingston, runs along the railroad tracks, behind Hills
Department Store in Edwardsville and ends at the Woodward Pumping Station near
the West Side Mall. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The authority is now looking at ways to raise money and to reduce the cost
of relocation. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 If it can't get the cost down, or raise enough money, the project could be
called off, Connolly said. Furthermore, any such project would have to be
approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of
Environmental Resources as well as local governing bodies. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A spokesman for the Corps in Baltimore said the agency received an
application last week seeking approval to relocate the culvert. Spokesman
Harold Klingerman said the application is under consideration. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 That approval is but one step in a long and expensive process that started
last March, when property owners were first contacted about selling their
homes and businesses. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Real estate agent Bruce Baker said Monday he is working with Edwardsville
property owners negotiating sale prices. Baker, of RE/MAX Keystone Realty in
Kingston, said his contact is a real estate agent with a Century 21 agency in
York, which he believes represents Benkar Inc. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Benkar, an acquisition company, is believed to be acting on behalf of
Wegmans, although the supermarket chain would not confirm that. There is no
listing for Benkar in this area or in York. The Century 21 agency in that
eastern Pennsylvania city did not return a phone call made to that office. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Baker said he has never been told directly Benkar represents Wegmans. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Unofficially, it's Wegmans," Baker said. "Nobody knows for sure. When it's
officially announced, then we'll know for sure." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Baker represents at least 22 property owners. Not all of the deals are the
same; some property owners have been given non-refundable deposits. The first
option to buy was signed in March. The last one was signed two weeks ago,
Baker said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Not all of the property owners want to sell, Baker said, although he could
not elaborate. The properties range from small garages to homes to businesses.
Most of the properties are selling for less than $100,000, Baker said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The total acquisition price -- the amount already under contract -- is
higher than $2.5 million, Baker said, adding that that figure is a
"guesstimate." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Property owners who refuse to sell could have their land, home or business
condemned by the borough and acquired by the right of eminent domain, Baker
said. Property owners would then be paid the fair market value, which could be
below the price offered by the real estate agent. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dennis McCartney, owner of Apex Building Products Inc. in Edwardsville,
said Monday his mother, Gloria McCartney, signed a sales contract with Benkar
last spring and has already received "a substantial non-refundable deposit"
for the family-owned building on Main and Page streets. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The closing was set for October, but Benkar missed that deadline, McCartney
says. No new deadline has been set. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "They asked us what we wanted, we told them and they accepted immediately,"
says McCartney of the sales negotiations. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Apex was planning to move out of that building into a larger one anyway and
the offer came at the right time, McCartney says. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Edwardsville Council Chairman Joe Tomasura referred most questions to the
Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Of the project, he said: "We're still in the planning stages. I'd say the
majority of the council feels it's a good thing for Edwardsville. Nobody on
council is opposed to it to my knowledge. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "At least half of that area is undeveloped and unless somebody does
something like this, it will remain very, very worthless property." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Wyoming Valley West School Superintendent Dr. Norman Namey said he recently
sent a memo to all school board members "in reference to a store coming in"
but he refused to discuss the subject further. He said he expects to discuss
the proposed project with the board at its next meeting in January. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Natale said it is not unusual for Wegmans to take more than a year to
determine whether it will build a new store. The supermarket chain has 45
stores in New York state and is expanding into Pennsylvania. It's opening its
first Pennsylvania store in Erie in June.

Expensive Snag Stands In Way Of 'super Store' ********************* Illustration 13.5 Acre Tract Of Land Proposed For Site Of