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By KEVIN HOFFMAN [email protected]
Sunday, April 30, 2000     Page:

HAZLETON – A former School Board member who ran into trouble for buying a
district building while in office said he’s willing to retract his bid for the
A.D. Thomas Elementary School building if it will benefit the community.
   
Ken Temborski, a former School Board member, said Thursday he would
withdraw his bid for the building so local businessman George Mehalshick can
follow through on a plan to turn the former school into a community center.
    “I feel materialistic and profit gains are not a priority and should not
stand in the way of a project that would benefit the children and the
progression of the Hazleton Area,” Temborski told the School Board on
Thursday.
   
As president of K&A Rentals, Temborski submitted the high bid of $69,999
for A.D. Thomas. Mehalshick had offered $25,000 but asked the board to
consider the benefits his project would bring to the community.
   
On Thursday, the board was expected to vote on whether to award the
building to K&A Rentals, but after Temborski made his unscheduled overture,
the board decided to hold off on making a decision.
   
“I knew nothing about him coming in, in fact, I didn’t really notice him
out there until his comments,” said board president Tom Scarpati.
   
Temborski, who has two young children, said he consulted with Hazleton
Mayor Louis Barletta, School District Superintendent Geraldine Shepperson and
other officials before offering to put aside his plan to raze the building and
build townhouses.
   
“A project like this doesn’t make or break me. As this point, we looked at
this project and said if this guy’s sincere … if this guy wants to do it,
let him do it,” Temborski said.
   
Last year, the Auditor General’s Office rebuked Temborski because K&A
Rentals bought the School District’s former administration building and sold
supplies to the district during his tenure on the School Board.
   
Mehalshick, 38, runs Solid State Securities Inc., a multimillion-dollar
manufacturer of fire-door products and accessories, and wants to turn A.D.
Thomas into a not-for-profit community and recreation center.
   
His proposal is backed by the American Red Cross, the United Way,
Volunteers of America, a handful of local sports leagues, the Tri-Area
Recreational Authority and state Rep. Todd Eachus, D-Hazleton.
   
Mehalshick did not return a phone call requesting comment.
   
The former A.D. Thomas Elementary School is not the only district building
with its future in limbo.
   
The School Board also voted Thursday to put the former Hazleton Junior High
School out to bid again, despite an impassioned plea not to do so by a Regis
Group representative.
   
The Regis Group of Bala Cynwyd purchased “the Castle” from the School
District last year for $100,000, but delayed closing the deal when it learned
the cost of removing asbestos would be higher than anticipated.
   
The district bid out the asbestos removal and found a company that would do
it for $129,000. But more recent estimates put the cost as high as $400,000,
said Michael Kretzman, a spokesman for the Regis Group.
   
Call Hoffman at 829-7139.