Tamaqua Borough Council voted to deny a request to waive an $85,000 loan that was granted through the borough 25 years ago to Berwick House Associates.

Councilman Micah Gursky explained that at the time a loan program had been available through the now-defunct Department of Community Affairs. The $85,000 was granted to the borough and made available to Berwick House Associates for the renovation of the property at the corner of West Broad and Berwick streets. The building had previously housed a bank and had fallen into disrepair.Berwick House Associates restored the building with the DCA money, and several other loans, creating several office spaces and apartments.Gursky said the requests to waive the loan had started coming "almost on the day the loan came due."He also said that if the $85,000 was repaid to the borough, it could continue to be used to fund similar loans.Gursky said there is interest in the Alliance for Building Communities in acquiring the property, which is now again in need of some significant repairs, however, with the liens against the property, it would be difficult to transfer the property."We are interested in a solution that ends with a happy ending for everyone," Gursky said. The Alliance for Building Communities owns and manages several other properties in the borough, including the Tamaqua Hi-Rise, the Laurel Run Commons and the property at 401 E. Broad St.In addition to his request to deny the request for waiver, which was approved, Gursky also asked that a letter be sent to Judd Roth and the Berwick House Associates, the Alliance for Building Communities and the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency to "express an interest in working together with the other debt holders to develop a plan to transfer ownership of the property."The letter is also to express an interest in finding a responsible operator and securing the funding needed to rehabilitate the building and units.