Last year, Jackson Township exercised its right to acquire 132 acres of reservoir from Evans City borough through the legal procedure known as eminent domain. The land, which is on Lindsay Road, resides in Jackson Township but is currently owned by the Evans City borough. Paula Grubs/Butler Eagle

EVANS CITY — Months after Jackson Township started legal proceedings to pursue eminent domain to acquire reservoir property owned by Evans City, a deal has yet to be made between the two municipalities.

Evans City received a new offer in January for the 132-acre property, which is owned by the borough but is in Jackson Township. However, the motion to send a counteroffer to the township failed to pass at the Monday, Feb. 3, borough council meeting.

The property includes a lake and a dam that once served as a reservoir for Evans City. Jackson Township hopes to develop it into a public park.

“We want to engage in a long-term recreational collaboration with the borough,” township manager Chris Rearick said prior to the Monday meeting in Evans City. “We are excited to see what Evans City’s counteroffer will hold.”

The Jackson Township board of supervisors had approved an intergovernmental cooperation agreement and an agreement of sale on Jan. 13, and the documents were sent to Evans City for review. The township offered $1,240,000 for the property, with the addition of $200,000 disbursed over five years to the Evans City Park Authority for its EDCO park.

At the Evans City borough meeting on Monday, a vote to send a counteroffer to Jackson Township was listed on the agenda.

A motion was made to approve the borough’s counteroffer by Councilman Rob Reppert, but the motion failed to be seconded by another member. Members of the council who refused to second the motion expressed their counteroffer needed more time to fully form.

The board held two executive sessions related to the counteroffer Monday, one before and one after the regular meeting, but no official action was taken.

“We want to negotiate the deal further with Jackson Township,” Councilman Mark Widdersheim said in regards to the purpose of a counteroffer.

Rearick was unavailable for comment Tuesday.

While the new year saw new movement toward an agreement between the municipalities, talks had started in 2023, with Jackson Township making an offer to Evans City to acquire the reservoir property.

In exchange for the property, Jackson Township would have provided police services for the borough. Evans City’s police situation was in flux at the time, as its partnership with Seven Fields was about to end. Evans City ultimately reached an agreement with the Pennsylvania State Police for law enforcement coverage.

In May 2024, Jackson Township filed proceedings to acquire the reservoir by eminent domain. In a news release, the township expressed its plan to develop a park on the property and expressed concern about the state of the dam.

Eminent domain is a recognized power of the government to take property as long as it follows the criteria of using the land for public use and it pays a just compensation. The township offered Evans City the appraised value of the property at $1,204,000.

“The township believes that its application of eminent domain and development of the property will maintain and advance the value of the site for Evans City and Evans City residents,” the township wrote.

In June, Evans City filed a land use appeal against the township to reverse the township’s zoning ordinance amendments establishing the property as part of a conservation recreation district.

“It’s a shame that it came to that. I don’t understand why. It’s just the way it is,” council President Cheri Deener said. “The Y in the road has been made and we had to make a choice.”

Jackson Township filed a motion to quash Evans City’s land use appeal in July. The motion was granted in August, with court documents citing that Evans City had “failed to adequately assert any procedural defect that occurred, and failed to follow proper procedures … to challenge any ordinance amendment on substantive grounds.”

While Evans City appealed the motion to quash in September, the land use appeal was ultimately discontinued in October.

Legal proceedings regarding eminent domain are still ongoing.

The next status conference in the legal proceedings is scheduled for Feb. 18.