Sunbury skate park to remain on North Fourth Street

Jan. 8—SUNBURY — The Sunbury skate park will remain in its location after Mayor Josh Brosious said a proposed deal with Dollar General is just about dead.

Brosious made the announcement during Monday's City Council meeting, saying the deal that would have seen Dollar General take over the land that sits on North Fourth Street, is over.

Part of the problem was city officials discovered the land was partly funded with federal funds nearly five decades ago.

Brosious announced Dollar General officials and his office have been in talks since February when the store closed its doors in the downtown after a series of problems with the building the store was housed in at 408-412 Market St.

Brosious said since that time, store officials have scanned the city and decided the best solution was to purchase the land where the current skate park sits on North Fourth Street. The cost of the property was set to be $300,000, Brosious said.

However, according to a 1976 document prepared by the United States Department of Interior, Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, the land can't be sold after the federal government provided $117,700 toward the $235,400 purchase of 28 acres, which includes the softball fields.

The agreement states everything on the property must remain in same in "full force and effect" and the land must remain as Heritage Conservation and Recreation Services.

Brosious said Dollar General is still looking for a location in the city, but they need 1.5 acres to build a structure between 12,000 and 15,000 square feet.

An offer of $300,000 was made to purchase the land outright, or Dollar General officials said they would use the money they would be giving to the city and move the skate park to a new location, near the tennis courts, by the Sunbury Community Pool.

Brosious said the concrete at the skate park is cracked and the location still is need of repairs.

A group of concerned residents and individuals who visit the skate park attended the meeting and said they want to be involved in the process to fix up the property.

Solicitor Joel Wiest offered free legal services to the group in order to set up a nonprofit so they could host fundraising events.

Dollar General closed its doors permanently in February after then-city code department Supervisor Jeff Wojciechowski said corporate officials informed city leaders they could not remain in the building due to company rules on property violations or issues. The corporation has a point system on buildings their stores are located in and the city location exceeded allowable limits.