During a meeting Wednesday, the Schuylkill County Commissioners approved filing a municipal claim against a property that was home to a thriving hotel and restaurant in the 1960s but is now reduced to scorched roofless shells and a debris-ridden lot.

The $47,500 claim is against Seven Hills Hospitality Inc., 1476 Route 61 South in North Manheim Township. The amount was calculated from March 1, 2007, through March 1, 2019, based on annualized consideration received during prior years, according to Glenn Roth, county solicitor’s office.

The 7.96-acre property was first known in 1965 as the Dusselfink and was valued at $800,000 when it reverted to the mortgage holder, Miners National Bank, in 1990. In 1992 the property changed hands for $750,000 to CBSS Inc. and McKinley Hower. In 2007 Seven Hills Hospitality paid $1,164,000 for the property. In April 2014 Seven Hills sold the property for $53,895 to Blackstone Funding and JMAC Realty Inc; but Blackstone and JMAC sold it back to Seven Hills for $257,432 in June 2014. At one time the grounds included seven buildings, which included three built in 1965, three in 1972 and one in 1980.

After the meeting, County Treasurer Linda Marchalk said that the owners had not responded to her requests for cooperation.

“We wanted to make sure the claim was filed so that we (the county) could preserve our right to collect once the property is sold,” Marchalk said.

Marchalk said that the hotel tax rate has been 5% since June 2017, when a new ordinance increased the rate from 3 to 5%.

“The hotel tax monies have been used to improve the county,” Marchalk said. “Through the tax we have provided $355,000 for the fire training academy and $555,000 for the county’s visitors’ bureau.”

The commercial property is listed for sale with Berkshire Hathaway, Schuylkill Haven office. The sale price is not listed, and a call to Berkshire Hathaway was not returned.