At its April 27 work session, Quakertown Borough Council again wrestled with an impending contract renewal for the Quakertown train station, currently inhabited by the Quakertown Train Station Historical Society. The existing lease for the property is between the borough and SEPTA and will need to be considered for renewal in the near future.

            SEPTA has indicated to borough council that if a new contract is not approved, the property will be auctioned off.

            This lease was last discussed at the January 26 work session, where members of council explained that funding from a grant secured by former Congressman James Greenwood has been paying for the property's annual rent for many years. That funding would be depleted within 10 years of this new lease, which has a 25-year term.

            At the January 26 meeting, council requested that some changes to the language be proposed to SEPTA in order to change the timeframe on the lease and to allow for the borough to escape the contract, should the property become vacant, so that Quakertown would not be responsible for a large rent sum every year.

            Council President Donald Rosenberger expressed concern that, should the contract be approved as-is, the historical society would be confronted with a bill 10 years down the line for a sum of rent that they may or may not be able to pay.

            Furthermore, if the historical society were to vacate the property before the grant credit was depleted, the borough would be on the hook for the annual rent for the remainder of the 15 years not paid for.

            The annual rent reaches a total cost of $79,000 dollars by the end of the contract duration.

            Negotiations with SEPTA to change the aforementioned language took place between the borough solicitor, Peter Nelson, and SEPTA. The borough requested that the length of the term be changed to 10 years, with four five-year renewal terms afterwards. SEPTA resoundingly declined this proposition, stating that the 10-year timeframe was unacceptable.

           The borough was more successful in its pursuit of adding an escape clause to the lease. Should the tenant of the property go bankrupt, the borough requested language to offer the ability to escape the lease with one year's notice. SEPTA agreed to that addition.

            Council requested that several representatives from the Quakertown Train Station Historical Society, who were in attendance, convene to review the latest numbers as presented by the contract. Council suggested that they determine what kind of revenue they may be able to supply 10 years from now to possibly pay for the rent bill that would hit them in the future.

            The contract was added to the next meeting agenda and will be discussed again at that time.