PRINTER'S NO. 37
No. 33 Session of 1985
INTRODUCED BY GAMBLE, FRYER, A. C. FOSTER, JR., LIVENGOOD,
MACKOWSKI, BROUJOS, SCHEETZ, WOZNIAK, RUDY, SHOWERS, DUFFY,
DeLUCA, D. W. SNYDER, JAROLIN, NAHILL, BALDWIN AND BELFANTI,
JANUARY 23, 1985
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT, JANUARY 23, 1985
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of June 24, 1931 (P.L.1206, No.331), entitled
2 "An act concerning townships of the first class; amending,
3 revising, consolidating, and changing the law relating
4 thereto," further providing for the sale of land to a
5 volunteer fire company, volunteer ambulance service or
6 volunteer rescue squad located within the township; and
7 providing for the sale of land to a redevelopment authority.
8 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
9 hereby enacts as follows:
10 Section 1. Section 1501 of the act of June 24, 1931
11 (P.L.1206, No.331), known as The First Class Township Code,
12 reenacted and amended May 27, 1949 (P.L.1955, No.569) and
13 amended September 28, 1978 (P.L.805, No.157) and October 28,
14 1983 (P.L.191, No.50), is amended to read:
15 Section 1501. Suits; Property.--Townships of the first class
16 may--
17 I. Sue and be sued.
18 II. Purchase, acquire by gift, or otherwise, hold, lease,
19 let and convey, by sale or lease, such real and personal
1 property as shall be deemed to be to the best interest of the
2 township: Provided, That no real estate owned by the township
3 shall be sold for a consideration in excess of one thousand five
4 hundred dollars except to the highest bidder after due notice by
5 advertisement for bids in one newspaper of general circulation
6 in the township. Such advertisement shall be published once not
7 less than ten days prior to the date fixed for the opening of
8 bids, and such date for opening bids shall be announced in such
9 advertisement. The acceptance of bids shall be made only by
10 public announcement at a regular or special meeting of the board
11 of township commissioners. All bids shall be accepted on the
12 condition that payment of the purchase price in full shall be
13 made within sixty days of the acceptance of bids.
14 Except as otherwise hereinafter provided in the case of
15 personal property of an estimated sale value of less than two
16 hundred dollars, no township personal property shall be disposed
17 of, by sale or otherwise, except upon approval of the board of
18 township commissioners, by ordinance or resolution. In cases
19 where the board of township commissioners shall approve a sale
20 of such property, it shall estimate the sale value of the entire
21 lot to be disposed of. If the board of township commissioners
22 shall estimate the sale value to be two hundred dollars or more,
23 the entire lot shall be advertised for sale once, in at least
24 one newspaper of general circulation in the township, not less
25 than ten days prior to the date fixed for the opening of bids or
26 public auction, and such date of opening of bids or public
27 auction shall be announced in such advertisement, and sale of
28 the property so advertised shall be made to the best responsible
29 bidder. The board of township commissioners shall have
30 authority, by resolution, to adopt a procedure for the sale of
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1 surplus personal property of an estimated sale value of less
2 than two hundred dollars and the approval of the board of
3 township commissioners shall not be required for any individual
4 sale that shall be made in conformity to such procedure.
5 The provisions of this clause shall not be mandatory where
6 township property is to be traded in or exchanged for new
7 township property.
8 The provisions of this clause shall not prohibit the sale or
9 exchange of township property to public utilities.
10 The provisions of this clause requiring advertising for bids
11 and sale to the highest bidder shall not apply where township
12 real or personal property is to be sold to a county, city,
13 borough, town, township, institution district, school district,
14 a volunteer fire company, volunteer ambulance service or
15 volunteer rescue squad located within the township, or municipal
16 authority pursuant to the Municipality Authorities Act of 1945,
17 or to a nonprofit corporation engaged in community industrial
18 development or where real property is to be sold to a person for
19 his exclusive use in an industrial development program or where
20 real property is to be sold to a redevelopment authority created
21 pursuant to the act of May 24, 1945 (P.L.991, No.385), known as
22 the "Urban Redevelopment Law," or where real property is to be
23 sold to a nonprofit corporation organized as a public library,
24 or where real property is to be sold to a nonprofit medical
25 service corporation as authorized by clause LXXII of section
26 1502, or where real property is to be sold to a nonprofit
27 housing corporation as authorized by clause LXXIII of section
28 1502. When real property is to be sold to a nonprofit
29 corporation organized as a public library or to a nonprofit
30 medical service corporation or to a nonprofit housing
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1 corporation the board of township commissioners may elect to
2 accept such nominal consideration for such sale as it shall deem
3 appropriate. Real property sold pursuant to this clause to a
4 volunteer fire company, volunteer ambulance service or volunteer
5 rescue squad, nonprofit medical service corporation or to a
6 nonprofit housing corporation shall be subject to the condition
7 that when the property is not used for the purposes of the
8 company, service, squad or the corporation the property shall
9 revert to the township.
10 Any officer who sells and each officer who votes in favor of
11 selling any township property, either real or personal, without
12 the provisions of this section having been complied with, shall
13 be subject to surcharge in the amount of any loss sustained by
14 the township by reason of such sale.
15 Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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