Meals on Wheels fights eviction
Protesters of Peters Township’s decision to boot the Meals on Wheels program from the fire hall march outside the township municipal building Monday evening.
Suzanne Elliott/The Almanac Protesters of Peters Township Council’s Meals on Wheels decision march outside the township’s municipal building Monday evening.
Susan and Kenneth Hanawalt discuss the predicament facing the Peters Township Meals on Wheels program.
The Peters Township fire hall on East McMurray Road where Meals on Wheels leases space
Peters Township said it wants Meals on Wheels to vacate its space at the township fire hall on East McMurray Road before its lease expires at the end of 2017 and said it will not renew the nonprofit’s rental agreement.
In a letter dated Dec. 1 from the township to Susan Hanawalt, executive director of Peters Township’s Meals on Wheels, Michael Silvestri, the township manager, wrote the fire department needs the space.
“The building is a township-owned facility and its primary and long-term use is as a public safety facility,” Silvestri’s letter said.
“It is not prudent as stewards of the township to construct a new facility for that need when we already own a facility that can be utilized.”
Silvestri said Meals on Wheels would not be penalized for early termination of its lease and would be offered a lump-sum contribution of $18,000 “upon a timely or early exiting of the facility.”
Hanawalt, who has served as the nonprofit’s executive director for 25 years, said Meals on Wheels has spent $560,000 renovating the 5,000-square-foot space, and it simply does not make financial sense to move from the space it has occupied for the last eight years.
“We put in a freezer, a 10-burner stove and a convection oven,” she said.
The organization provides more than 200 hot meals a day to people living in Peters, Canonsburg, Finleyville, North Strabane, Houston, Eighty Four and Muse, as well as some communities in southern Allegheny County. Its typical client is a woman who is in her early 80s who lives alone, she said.
“We just got the letter on Friday (Dec. 4),” said Hanawalt’s husband, Kenneth, a volunteer. “We were hopeful they (council) would listen and see the value of us.”
About 20 protesters marched Monday night outside the township’s municipal building, displaying signs in hopes of convincing council to reconsider its decision to oust the Meals on Wheels program.
Susan Hanawalt said the agency pays $4,000 a month in rent and pays for all inside maintenance and repairs. She said only one council member has visited the facility since it relocated from St. David’s Episcopal Church in Venetia eight years ago.
Ideally, Hanawalt said she would like to see township residents support a campaign to keep the organization in Peters.
In addition, she said she would like to see township funds used to pay for a storage garage and trailer for the fire department to use. If a new location cannot be found, Hanawalt said the kitchen equipment would have to be moved and sold, she said.
“Meals on Wheels is in a difficult situation,” council President David Ball said. “We are aware and appreciate what they have done. But, they are occupying space the township needs. The fire department needs the room. It does not make sense for us to build a building while we are renting space to them. We are trying very hard to accommodate them.”
Meals on Wheels will host a public open house from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Refreshments will be provided.