Luzerne County Council set to vote on $380,000 sale of West Pittston residence

The purchase offer for a West Pittston residential property owned by Luzerne County is $380,000, according to a new agenda posting for Tuesday’s special county council meeting that was scheduled to vote on the sale.

Located at 1200 Susquehanna Ave., the property was acquired by the county earlier this year in its settlement of 2018 litigation filed by Richard and Kimberly Hazzouri, which argued the couple was wrongly prevented from participating in a flood buyout program.

The settlement awarded $650,000 for the property based on an appraisal of its pre-flood value, officials have said.

A council majority voted in July to retain real estate agent Lori Spencer and Classic Properties to market and seek buyers for the property.

The property has been listed at $474,900, according to an online real estate posting.

It’s expected the proposed sale price below this amount will be largely attributed to softening of the real estate market and the county’s discovery that a lower, grandfathered flood insurance rate cannot be transferred to the new owner. The offer also is reportedly all-cash and accepting the property in as-is condition from the buyers, identified as Jonah and Alexis Fanucci on the proposed council resolution.

Council Vice Chairman John Lombardo said he plans to vote in support of the sale so the county is not forced to invest more money and resources maintaining the residence for an indefinite period.

“I’m eager to see it leave the possession of the county,” Lombardo said, noting the circumstances that led to the county’s acquisition of the property pre-dated his taking office.

Most of the litigation settlement — $585,000 — came from the county community development office. The county’s insurance carrier kicked in $50,000, while West Pittston’s insurance carrier paid $15,000, officials have said.

Since the settlement was separate from a flood buyout that would require demolition, the county is free to sell the property to recoup some of the money lost paying the settlement.

If past practice is followed, the $380,000 would be returned to the community development office.

Tuesday’s special meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre, following council’s 5 p.m. public interviewing of citizen applicants for the Manager Search Committee.

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.