by peter e. bortner
A Schuylkill County jury awarded almost $400,000 on Tuesday to the owner of a West Brunswick Township property taken by the state Department of Transportation as part of its Route 61 improvement project.
After a two-day trial, the jury awarded $380,000 to Michael Watson, Cressona, the owner of 1267 Centre Turnpike, which had been occupied by Auto Star Inc., an automobile dealership.
PennDOT had filed the initial declaration of taking for the property on June 2, 2009. It said all or parts of eight properties are needed to proceed with the project, which is intended to improve traffic flow and safety on the busy highway.
In response, Watson filed a petition on July 15, 2009, for the appointment of a board of view to examine the property and help determine its value.
PennDOT has drafted several proposals for changing Route 61 in Deer Lake and the township. In that area, the road narrows both northbound and southbound from four lanes, two in each direction, to three, one in each direction plus a left-turn lane.
Under the federal and state constitutions, PennDOT must pay just compensation - the value of the property taken - to all owners of the land seized, and the jury's determination was of what that amount should be.
Judge John E. Domalakes presided over the trial.
David K. Brennan, Reading, represented Watson, while John V. Rovinsky, Scranton, represented PennDOT.