The nonprofit organization created to advocate for “a sustainable future” for the Lower Makefield-owned Patterson Farm has asked for the opportunity to lease its Satterthwaite House from the township.
“That is an option that is on the table, we are very interested in getting into the property and working on the restoration,” said Donna Doan, of the nonprofit. “I think a 501(c)(3) can really come in and have some tax-saving dollars effect on the whole project that taxpayers will appreciate.”
During public comment of Lower Makefield Township’s Oct. 12 ad hoc property committee meeting, Doan called in to announce that her group submitted a lease agreement for the house to the township through its attorney that week.
“So I hope that the committee will consider us. I don’t know why there’s no discussion on (the nonprofit group),” she added. “It always seems like we want to form a new 501(c)(3) but we are here and we have been here since 2015. We stand ready to partner with the township to get this done and make Patterson have a sustainable future.”
Reached Tuesday, Lower Makefield Township Manager David Kratzer said the board of supervisors had not yet met as a group to discuss the offer and it wasn’t made in response to a request from the township. He indicated that the proposed lease would likely be considered within the larger framework of the property’s still-developing master plan, a process that’s likely to conclude before the end of 2023.
Spearheading that process now is the ad hoc property committee. During its Oct. 12 meeting, it discussed Phase 1 priorities — those that would be achieved in one to three years.
The township appointed the volunteer committee to work with hired professionals to develop an executable plan for the township-owned 234-acre historical property.
There have been two suggestions from the governmental, consulting and architectural sides.
The first is that municipal governments are not designed to manage such properties.
“It’s a well-known fact, it’s not particular to LMT, it’s known around the country. It’s not what municipalities are set up to do and they’re not gonna do it well,” said Dennis Steadman, chair of the ad hoc property committee.
The second recommendation is to have a dedicated nonprofit that would handle raising funds, requesting and securing grants and tapping community volunteers who, operating transparently in concert with the landlord, can manage the site.
Responding to Doan’s request to deepen her nonprofit’s partnership with the township, ad hoc property committee member Joe Camaratta reported key takeaways from case studies on sites managed by 501(c)(3)s.
“In the report, I put down some selection criteria for what would make a good candidate but I think we should spell out what the selection criteria are and then go through the process of looking at existing ones or people who want to start one,” said Camaratta, who also chairs the township’s historical commission.
One of the master plan’s guiding principles is making sure Patterson Farm remains in agriculture. The farm currently produces more food and farm products than at any time over its 340 years of continuous agriculture with 14 different crops ranging from cantaloupe, zucchini, tomatoes, sweet corn, field corn and soybeans.
While farming on the rich soil of the property has never posed a problem, the site’s 15 old and historic buildings are deteriorating.
“The master plan needs to find productive, community-supported uses for the buildings that are compatible with farming and the historic nature of this natural public land,” Steadman said. “As you come off the highways and you see those farmsteads that’s an important signature for our community.”
With the support of the township, a professional objective analysis was done of each building to determine the conditions, feasible uses, designs and cost estimates of repairs.
It found the best uses of the buildings on the property involved arts, trades, crafts, education and recreation.
The committee made no final recommendations for Phase 1 worked to determine what should be in Phase 1 and what could wait.
It also directed Camaratta to go to the board of supervisors to recommend updating the National Historic Register application for the farm.
The committee’s next monthly meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9. It will be streamed on YouTube.
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