Franklin moving to regain old church

FRANKLIN — The Borough of Franklin is moving forward with its efforts to regain control of the Old Hungarian Church, Administrator Alison Littell McHose indicated at Tuesday night's council meeting.
In an update given to the council, McHose reported the Franklin Historical Society has handed over possession of the building keys and relevant documents to the Borough. She also noted the borough is planning to continue to pay the electric and gas bills for the structure since they are minimal expenses.
The church has been the subject of ongoing discussions at council meetings as officials wrangled with how best to enforce the unfulfilled terms of a lease agreement made with the Franklin Historical Society for use of that plot.
Though the borough owns the land the church sits on, the Franklin Historical Society leased the property in order to use it as the site for the relocated historic Hungarian church, which it purchased and planned to restore. The lease outlined a timeline for renovation of the building that the Historical Society was unable to meet, however, leaving the structure in a state of disrepair.
Under the terms of the lease, the Borough retained the right to regain control of the property if the conditions included weren't met. However, the situation has been complicated by the existence of a bank loan the Historical Society took out on its own to restore the building, which has created a tangle of interests in the property between the bank and the Borough.
McHose said Tuesday the Borough has attempted to contact the bank in hopes of negotiating and straightening out that conflict, but has not yet received a response. Borough Attorney Thomas Prol advised the council it would be best to take the matter to court to receive that body's blessing before finally seizing full control the property as outlined in the lease.
What happens to the property after that, though, has yet to be determined.
The council has discussed at previous meetings a range of options, including tearing down the structure, finishing its restoration, and auctioning the property off, but a final conclusion has not been reached.