Evans City, Seven Fields locked into dispute over defunct police department assets
The extended dispute between the boroughs of Evans City and Seven Fields regarding the liquidation of assets from their defunct joint police department does not appear to be headed for a resolution any time soon.
The Evans City-Seven Fields Regional Police Department officially disbanded at the end of last year, but the two boroughs have failed to reach an agreement over inventory, which, most notably, includes three police vehicles.
Both sides have accused one another of dragging out the process.
“It’s a wash, as far as I’m concerned,” Evans City Borough Council President Cheri Deener said.
Evans City council approved possible legal action at a meeting earlier this month if the two boroughs can’t agree to terms.
“We’ve been dealing with this for almost two full years,” Deener said.
In response, a letter was sent by Seven Fields solicitor Megan Turnbull to Evans City solicitor Ryan Mergl dated Nov. 7. The letter alleged that Evans City officials are responsible for the holdup.
“Since the operational dissolution of the Regional Police Department roughly one year ago, Seven Fields Borough representatives have made various attempts to resolve the issue of its remaining tangible property,” the letter read. “Evans City Borough has rejected all of these attempts in one way or another. In the meantime, Evans City began unilaterally using Commission assets without notice to or the permission of the Commission.”
On Oct. 10, Evans City made an offer of $58,000 to purchase all three police vehicles and all leftover property. That offer was based on estimates from Municibid, an online government auctions website.
However, Seven Fields officials made clear in the letter that they would only be willing to accept a global settlement of assets valued at $95,000.
“As communicated to Evans City several months ago, only global settlements of assets will be considered in order to allow the final winding down of the Commission,” the letter went on to say.
If the two boroughs were to reach an agreement at some point, Seven Fields would receive 61.5% of the proceeds, while Evans City would get 38.5%. Those rates are based solely on population.
Seven Fields representatives proposed a meeting to finalize the liquidation, but the two boroughs do not have plans to meet as of Thursday, Nov. 14.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen with that,” Deener said about any possible resolution in the near future. “I can’t answer that at all, because I don’t know the answer.”
Shortly after the department shut down, Seven Fields signed a four-year contract with Northern Regional Police Department. The first year of that contract was priced at $650,000, according to the Seven Fields website.
Meanwhile, Evans City now funds its own police department, which includes a public safety officer and two part-time staff members.