Thrift Store Moves Into Tamaqua Community Center

TAMAQUA — Business is booming at a thrift shop in Schuylkill County, so much so that it has to expand. That means people who use a neighboring community center need to find a new place to go. If you spend any time inside the thrift shop in Tamaqua, called Life’s Second Hand Treasurers, you’ll find that it’s pretty cramped. There is no room to display the lightly-used furniture. You’ll find it in outside tents. “We have it in our tents and as we sell it, we restock it with the stuff we have stored in our trailer,” said Derek Seiger of Access Services. The shop on Center Street is run by a non-profit group called Access Services. “This is a low-income community. There (are) many people struggling and below the poverty level, so when we do get any furniture in, it does go fast,” said Sheila Davison of Access Services. Access Services wants to buy the Tamaqua Community Center for $150,000. The sale will be final on the first of the year. “Our donations have been so much that we can’t display larger furniture or anything, so that building will be used to put furniture and bigger items in,” said Davison. Tamaqua owns the community center. Officials say selling it to Access Services will avoid a tax increase for property owners. “Our budget would be impacted if we kept this building, with the ongoing cost of maintaining it and heating it and the proceeds from the sale to help balance this year’s budget,” said Micah Gursky, who’s on the Tamaqua Borough Council. Some community groups use the community center. Access Services and borough leaders say they are looking for other places for the groups to meet.