West Reading to Sell 433 Penn Ave for $675K, Finance Buyer

West Reading Borough Council voted Oct. 27 to sell 433 Penn Avenue, the former Schweitzer's Service Center lot it bought in 2024 for $675,000, to the Redevelopment Authority of the County of Berks for the same $675,000, with the price financed entirely by a loan from the borough to the Authority. Resolution 2026-18, signed by all seven council members and the mayor, was posted Tuesday morning along with the proposed 2027 budget, 15 pages of line items with no tax rate. Council votes on the budget Dec. 15.

The deal, as the resolution reads

The resolution covers two parcels: "twenty-nine hundredths (0.29) acre, more or less, known as 433 Penn Avenue," for $675,000, and "seven hundredths (0.07) acre, more or less, located along Tulpehocken Avenue," for $7,500, under "an Agreement for the Sale of Commercial Real Estate dated October 27, 2026 between the Borough, as seller, and the Authority, as buyer" (p. 1). The Authority also agrees to reimburse "documented reasonable costs of improvements made to the Properties during the Borough's ownership," capped at $125,000 (the amount spelled out in words is garbled).

Council also authorized "any and all documents necessary or required to extend a loan from the Borough to the Authority in the original principal amount of Six Hundred Eighty-Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($682,500.00) to assist the Authority in the purchase of the Properties," including "a Purchase Money Note" for that amount and "a Purchase Money Mortgage granting a first lien encumbrance on the Properties to the Borough" (pp. 1-2). The Authority would owe the borough the full price under a note secured by a mortgage that puts the borough first in line if it defaults. The $682,500 equals the two prices to the dollar, so at closing the borough would hand over the deeds, take the note and mortgage, and be paid the "Reimbursement Consideration" of up to $125,000 for documented improvements, which a garbled clause of the resolution ties to "the closing of the sale" (p. 1).

The resolution gives no interest rate, repayment schedule or closing date, and does not say what the Authority plans for the lot or whether the sale has closed. The agreement of sale is not posted; a resident can request it under the Right-to-Know Law (our guide). The Oct. 27 agenda listed the item only as "entering into the sale of real estate and naming authorized signers," without naming the property. The Oct. 20 agenda records an executive session that night "to discuss potential litigation, real estate, and personnel matters" (p. 1). Minutes for Oct. 20 and Oct. 27 are not posted; the Oct. 27 event page has a Zoom invitation but no recording.

Page 2 carries the signatures of President Ryan Lineaweaver, Vice President Patrick Kaag, Pro Tem Denise Drobnick, Justin Choate, Vicki Haller Graff, Maggie Seaman and Bethany Bower and the approval of Mayor Samantha Kaag; the attest line misspells the secretary as "Cynthia Madiera."

The buyer's side

The Authority's board agenda for Oct. 27, the same day as the council vote, lists, as item 8d, "Resolution #2026-12 for purchase of properties in West Reading," with no price or address; the item just before it, 8c, reads only "Legal Waiver." Its posted minutes run only through Aug. 25 and do not mention West Reading property.

The same name is listed as solicitor for both bodies: the Authority's Aug. 25 minutes list "Daniel P. Becker, Esquire of Kozloff Stoudt, Solicitor" (p. 1), and the borough's agendas list "Daniel Becker, Solicitor." Council's Oct. 20 agenda carried "Consideration of accepting a solicitor waiver of conflict of interest," with no detail (p. 1). Neither agenda explains its waiver, and no posted record ties either one to this sale. In August council voted 7-0 to send "a letter of commitment to the Berks County Redevelopment Authority for the EPA Brownfield Assessment Coalition Grant application" (Aug. 18 minutes, p. 4); the minutes name no site.

What the borough bought

Council bought the lot, then "Schweitzer's Service Center" per committee minutes, by Resolution 2024-21 on July 23, 2024, "in lieu of condemnation," from Donald L. and Marla R. Schweitzer for $675,000. The minutes record a 6-0 vote and explain that a purchase under the threat of eminent domain "provides tax benefits to the seller"; the mayor "confirmed that the decision to purchase the property in lieu of condemnation was to directly benefit the Schweitzer family" (pp. 2-3).

It became a paid parking lot run through ParkMobile (July 21 minutes, p. 7). On Aug. 18 the West Reading Community Revitalization Foundation reported that "since paid parking was instituted on the Schweitzer lot, no one has been parking there. It is incumbent upon Borough Council to decide what to do with this property" (minutes, p. 7). On Sept. 15 council tabled a "Real Estate Transfer" for executive session and moved money to cover "the 433 Penn Avenue bond expense of $118,000" (minutes, pp. 3, 7; our September recap).

The 2027 budget

General fund revenue is $9,754,436 against $9,362,429 in spending, a $392,007 surplus; the 2026 adopted budget planned $9,189,680 in and $9,340,086 out. The document prints a 2027 column only, with no millage. Current real estate tax lines total $2,493,984 (general $1,704,222, road $290,965, fire $498,797), 1.1 percent above 2026's $2,465,717. The county's 2026 rate sheet puts the borough at 9.75 mills; nothing the borough has posted says whether that changes, and Reading Eagle legal notices on publicnoticepa.com for "West Reading" from Oct. 20 through Nov. 10 include no budget ad. See our property tax guide.

• Earned income tax: $1,003,852, down 5.5 percent from $1,062,650 (p. 1).
• "Reading Hospital": $500,000, down from $743,675; the line is not explained (p. 2).
• Transfers in from the water ($889,920), sewer ($863,140) and refuse ($199,820) funds total $1,952,880, 20 percent of general fund revenue (p. 2).
• Police: $3,781,082, up 5.7 percent from $3,578,179, with $774,000 for health insurance (pp. 4-5). On Aug. 25 Manager Randall Miller put the increase at 5.6 percent (minutes, p. 1).
• Capital fund: $1,701,246 in, including $703,565 from the general fund, against $1,586,923 out, mostly bond payments (p. 12). A new line, "Proceeds of Sale from Realestate," carries $113,750; the budget does not say which sale. It equals one-sixth of the $682,500 note, though no document connects the two. The same page still carries "433 Penn Ave Construction" at $10,000, the same figure as 2026, for a lot the borough is selling.
• Recreation: the revenue page double counts a $299,700 subtotal and prints $756,400; the fund takes in $456,700 and spends $456,426 (pp. 14-15).

The Finance Committee's Oct. 15 agenda listed budget meetings Oct. 10, Oct. 27, Nov. 14 and Nov. 24; the calendar marked Oct. 10 canceled and shows a Nov. 7 workshop instead of Nov. 14. Both the Oct. 27 and Nov. 7 agendas carried "authorizing the advertisement of the 2027 draft budget"; no minutes say which night it passed. The borough's notice says the budget can be reviewed at Borough Hall, 500 Chestnut St., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, with public comment and adoption at 7 p.m. Dec. 15.

Also adopted

• Resolution 2026-19, Oct. 27: no parking fines or meter charges on the lot, which the agenda calls "the Municipal Lot at 433 Penn Avenue," on weekends "(Friday, Saturday, and Sunday)" from Nov. 26 through Dec. 27. The weekend limit appears only in the title, the dates appear in the title and a whereas clause, and the resolved paragraph sets no dates at all.
• Resolution 2026-17, Oct. 20: police officers keep paying 8 percent of pay into the pension plan in 2027.
• Resolution 2026-20, Oct. 27: Deer Alley between Fourth and Fifth avenues is ceremonially co-named "Brett Bagenstose Portal" for 20 years, citing "his award-winning interactive digital marketing business, Neo-Pangea"; addresses do not change.

What happens next

Council meets at 7 p.m. Nov. 17 at Borough Hall; the Planning Commission's Nov. 4 agenda says the data center curative amendment is "Advertised for passage in November," ahead of the Dec. 20 deadline in our October preview. A 6 p.m. meeting follows Nov. 24; the budget vote is Dec. 15.