If there had been better media coverage of the meetings of the Bellefonte Borough Council and the Industrial Development Authority for the past several years, the public would have a much more informative view of the actions of the council and the authority.

The waterfront project has been talked about, reports were issued and ideas were formulated since the demise of the Bush House in a fire some years ago and are nothing new to the concerned residents of the borough. Council for years waited in anticipation of the rebuilding of the Bush House, but to our avail nothing would be forthcoming in the foreseeable future.

We had a vision of what could be done with properties between High and Lamb streets and what it could mean for the growth and betterment of the town for the residents of Bellefonte. Through the legislators and former Gov. Ed Rendell’s office we received a grant to help the borough move forward in the concept of redeveloping the properties in question.

We met with the owners and laid out our plans to purchase the properties (the grant stipulates that we have control of the properties) and work with a developer to provide a hotel, parking and a mix of residential and commercial venues for the site along with the public walkway that would provide flood control and a pleasing visual entrance to Bellefonte along state Route 150.

One of the property owners agreed to sell, and the other two did not want to sell for the appraised values or other issues. We tried to work out the issues but with timelines to meet, we, the authority and council, decided the only way to move forward and salvage the project was to pursue the action of eminent domain. The inability to acquire the properties changed our vision of the development and shifted the prospect of a hotel, which would bring in more visitors to the American Philatelic Society, fishermen and football games, from the Bush House site to the east end of the properties. The site of the Bush House alone would not have accommodated a new hotel, thereby necessitating the addition of the adjacent property.

Yes, the borough did make arrangement to borrow $3.5 million to complete this project, but from the very beginning it was clearly stated that the taxpayers of the borough would not bear the burden of the cost of this project; it would be funded from other revenue.

Let me be very clear that this project was and is going forward to enhance the quality of life for all borough residents and was envisioned as means to bring more tourists, invigorate the merchants and make Bellefonte a better place to live.

I congratulate the members of the Industrial Authority and the council in their unanimous decisions, for having the foresight and the integrity to do what is best for Bellefonte.

Frank Halderman is president of Bellefonte Borough Council.