The development of the new Sheetz gas station sparked a discussion between an attorney representing Sheetz and council members during a meeting on March 6 at the Borough Office.
James McCormick, the attorney, said that Sheetz plans to build a new store at the intersection of Franklin Street and North Main Street that will take up 0.254 acres of land. McCormick said the new gas station will have 4 gas pumps, access to the store from both streets, parking on three sides of the building, and two door entrances for customers.
Neva L. Stanger, the council Solicitor, said the new Sheetz is planned to be almost 7,000 square feet, which is about 5,000 square feet larger than the current store.
“For this project to proceed, we would have to purchase the current parking lot of the United Methodist Church and create a new one for them behind the church,” McCormick said.
Itzi Meztli, a council member and a professor in the SRU English department, said he was concerned about the full access entrance to the new Sheetz, because of traffic, and did not like the idea of the new property causing the loss of about 5 parking spaces on Main Street.
Another problem discussed was the use of two alleys located on part of the land the company wishes to utilize. Legion Drive and School Road are two alleys that the company hopes can be vacated for property use.
“The old building is obsolete,” McCormick said. “The vacation of those two alleys would help with the flow of traffic.”
The request for vacancies was Feb 29, and if all goes well they’ll receive the final decision at the end of March, according to McCormick.
