Lower Makefield officials cobble together $3.5M to pay judgment in eminent domain case involving golf course land
“The township will borrow up to $3.5 million from township funds to pay off a judgment in an eminent domain case involving Lower Makefield’s 1999 acquisition of the 166-acre Dalgewicz Farm on Woodside Road, the current site of the Makefield Highlands Golf Course which opened in 2004.
At the June 19 meeting, the board of supervisors voted 5-0 to borrow the money from several township sources: the general fund, the sewer fund, the sewer capital reserve fund and the traffic impact fund.
The exact amount of the judgment is not known, but is expected to be between $3.3 million and $3.5 million. The township is waiting for the attorneys representing the Dalgewicz family to present a calculation, which will include the interest that has been accruing at more than $10,000 a month since the 2008 jury award.
“We’re not in any way, shape or form trying to move the shells around,” said Supervisor Dan McLaughlin. “We need to get this obligation behind us.”
Schlatter, D.E. Bucks Local News 29 July 2013.