No Apologies

This post is dedicated to the Northwest Savings Bank employee, local realtor and those omniscient ones whose words, gestures and mannerisms at the Austin Borough Council Meeting held on Tuesday, February 3, 2014, at the Fire Hall, indicated certain members of council were foolish to believe that there would be no Restricted Use Clause in the Agreement transferring the bank building to the borough, and, that there was no possibility that this clause would/could be removed.




At the October 2014 Austin Borough Council meeting a representative from Northwest Savings Bank was present to inform Council that the Turner Street Branch Office in Austin would be closing at the end of the year. He further indicated that the building would be given to the Borough of Austin.

I, sitting as a member of Council, asked this representative directly if there would be any restrictions to the transfer.  The NWSB Representative stated No, there would not be.

Vice President Nathan Burgett followed-up on my question and answer given by the Northwest Savings Bank Official.  Again, the NWSB Representative stated there would be no restrictions, and, that the building could be used for whatever you want, or, words to that effect.

Within a few days after the October Borough Council meeting, Vice President Nathan Burgett contacted Potter County Commissioner Susan Kefover regarding the closing of the Turner Street Branch Office.  A meeting was scheduled with Commissioner Kefover at the Austin Fire Hall.  V.P. Burgett requested that Councilmen Fred "Joe" Fowler and myself, Bernard "Mike Fowler attend.

At this meeting, we identified five (5) area banks to contact, inviting them to establish banking facilities here in Austin.  This group felt confident that one of the five would accept, as we would be in possession of a building designed and built for a banking establishment. Commissioner Kefover indicated that she would draft the invitation letter for the Borough to sign and send to these five (5) banks, which she did.

In the early part of January 2015, the Borough of Austin received the Agreement from Northwest Savings Bank containing the following restriction on page 2:

It is stipulated and agreed by the Borough of Austin, for itself; its successors and assigns that, said premises above described being Parcel #030-002-048, will not be used for any bank, savings and loan or any consumer discount company purposes.

Local and Corporate Northwest Savings Bank Officials have since down-played and/or dismissed the statements made by their official at the October Austin Borough Council meeting regarding no restrictions.  They have indicated that this is a standard clause contained in all such Agreements and we should have known this, regardless of what was said at the October meeting.

As Paul Harvey would say, Now you know the rest of the story."

Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe - Voltaire

Austin Area School District in the News

The two (2) articles below appeared in the Saturday, January 31 - Friday, February 6, 2015 edition of the Endeavor newspaper

The Endeavor is owned and operated by Robert and Britta Hooftallen, both graduates of the Austin Area School District.

The Endeavor is located at 29 East Fourth Street, Emporium, PA 15834.  Their telephone number is (814)-486-1400.  They are also online at www.endeavornews.com.

Donation Check Returned to Northwest Savings Bank

Closest Brick and Mortar Bank to Austin, Costello and Wharton

Using Yahoo Maps, I have determined that the closest brick and mortar bank to Austin, Costello and Wharton is the First National Bank of  Port Allegany - Coudersport Branch.

The address of the First National Bank of Port Allegany - Coudersport Branch is:

118 East Second Street
Coudersport, PA 16915

Telephone Number: 814-274-9488

Yahoo Maps indicates the following distances and drive times:

From Austin: 14.84 miles with approximately 18 minute drive time.

From Costello: 18 miles with approximately 23 minute drive time.

From Wharton: 25.16 miles with approximately 35 minute drive time.

Directions:

Proceed on Route 872 North to the T-intersection of Route 872/Route 6.

Turn Left on Route 6 which also becomes East Second Street, Coudersport.

Go 1.7 miles.

The First National Bank of Port Allegany is on the left.

Borough Council Accepts Northwest Savings Bank Agreement

This evening the Austin Borough Council accepted the proposed Agreement presented by Northwest Savings Bank, including the restricted use clause.

The vote was 4 to 3.

Voting in favor of accepting the clause were:

1. Bucky Blainer
2. Victoria Setzer
3. Bill Solomon
4. Jesse Valenti

Voting against the clause were:

1. Nathan Burgett
2. Bernard Fowler
3. Fred Fowler

The Agreement appears below:

I wonder how future generations will look upon those four individuals who voted to accept this Agreement.

Dateline: May 21, 1969. Austin Sells Lot on Turner Street to FNB Coudersport for $1.00

Back in the mid to late 1960's, The members of the Austin Jaycees worked very hard in negotiating with the management at the First National Bank of Coudersport and collecting signatures from Austinites to petition them to open a branch in Austin, Pennsylvania.

It worked.

On May 21, 1969, the Community of Austin sold a lot on Turner Street to the First National Bank of Coudersport for $1.00. Refer to the deed below.

At least one member of the Austin governing body, through his actions and statements, has apparently given up on Austin obtaining another financial institution to locate here.

Will the majority of those Austin Borough Council Members attending tonight's meeting also give up so easily?

I hope to see a large crowd there tonight voicing their opinions on this issue. If not, it will tell me that you just don't care!

The picture below appears in the Austin Area School District 1975 Yearbook:

What's Happened at Northwest Savings Bank

Well, tonight's the night when the Austin Borough Council meets to accept or reject the Agreement presented to our Community prohibiting us from forever using their former branch office on Turner Street as a financial institution.

I have read and re-read a Press Release dated May 5, 2014, WARREN, Pa.,/PRNewswire/ listing the awards Northwest Savings Bank earned in 2014, as I still cannot believe this is the same banking institution who should know that our not having a financial institution in town will severely  hinder our recovery from a disastrous 2014.

In 2014, J.D. Power ranked them the "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Retail Banking in the Mid-Atlantic Region.  This was their fourth award in five years from J.D. Power.

Also, in 2014, they were named to the "Bank Honor Roll" by Keefe, Bruyette and Woods. which is a list of thirty-one top performing banks in the country for the previous ten years.

Forbes included Northwest Savings Bank in their 2014 list of "The Top 50 Most Trustworthy Financial Companies in American."

NWSB President and CEO William J. Wagner was quoted in the article as making the following statement, "We are pleased with the significant recognition Northwest has received in 2014 as it demonstrates our company's commitment to building loyalty, trust and value among our employees, customers, communities and shareholders".

I can understand Northwest Savings Bank wanting to increase shareholder value.  That's the name of the game.  What I can't understand is their wanting their cake and eating it too at our expense.  We are a community of about 600 people striving to survive.  We have individuals buying and creating businesses in our community. They obviously believe that their is money to be made here. Our school, the smallest in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a public school in a private school setting.  The Austin Area School District is at the forefront of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). They consistently meet the Annual Yearly Progress standards and are frequently cited for various educational awards.  This past week's Endeavor contained two articles on the Austin Area School District.  One article was titled "Smart Lab coming to Austin" and the other "Recognized as 'distinguished school' at Title 1 Conference."  It is also noteworthy that they already have a 3-D printer inhouse.

Furthermore, I have heard the word "gift" used a couple of times describing Northwest Savings Bank giving the building on Turner Street to our Community.  They have valued this piece of property at $46,033.68 and will write this off as Goodwill or in some other manner. So, with this write-off and the use restriction, they are really putting it to the Community of Austin.

Who out there believes that this is a fair deal for the Community of Austin?