Dunkirk Common Council could sell the damaged pump station tonight. P-J photo by M.J. Stafford

The city of Dunkirk wants to sell a pump station damaged in a December fire.

The city was sued in March over the condition of the Stegelske Avenue pump station after the fire. The station is supposed to supply Refresco’s fire protection station with water, and the suit sought to compel the city to make repairs.

The Stegelske Avenue station was originally built in the 1980s to supply Great Lakes Printing Co. and True Temper. Those businesses are now closed.

Now, the city Common Council is set to consider selling it to Atwater Capital, LLC, the outfit that sued. Atwater Capital owns the property the two plants used to occupy. According to the resolution to approve the sale, which the council is set to consider today, the buildings are now used as warehouse space for Refresco and other local manufacturers.

The buildings are just over the city line, in the town of Dunkirk. Today’s resolution states that “the town handles maintenance and created a special water district to service the two plants.” An attached letter from Atwater Capital’s attorneys, Wright, Wright and Hampton of Jamestown, states that as a condition of the sale, the water district will have to be dissolved.

The letter calls for a purchase price of $27,700 — to be paid in cash. The property will be purchased “as is.” However, the city is supposed to “bring electricity to the property in the form of a new 208-volt electric service for a new 100 horsepower fire pump and controller.”

The council resolution goes on to state that after the fire in December, “in reviewing the damaged station, both the DPW director and an engineer hired by the property owner concluded that the station was obsolete as is, and needed major repairs.”

The resolution continues, “although the city had insurance coverage, the fact that most private commercial property owners have their own fire suppression systems, coupled with the outdated pump station, pushed all parties to seek a different solution.”

The sale is the apparent solution. Today’s measure states Atwater Capital will upgrade the station with its own funds, and assistance from the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency. The lawyers’ letter notes that Atwater has applied for a Payment In Lieu Of Taxes agreement from the agency, and the agency board’s approval of such an agreement is a condition of the sale.