John Swanson bought four lots at a public auction held during the borough assembly’s last meeting.

The four undeveloped lots on Valkyrie Street came with a $78,000 price tag for Swanson after bidding higher than Andy Kittams.

Kittams went as high as $23,000 on lots 2, 3 and 4 but stopped after Swanson upped the bid each time to $24,000.

“That was higher than what the normal value would be on those properties,” Swanson said.

Swanson bought lot 5 for the minimum purchase price of $6,000—the assessed value Mike Renfro, assessor for the borough, ascribed to each lot.

There is no road access to the lots and nothing can be built on the property until utilities are installed.

Swanson said he doesn’t have immediate plans to build on the lots and eventually wants to trim some trees to let light into his nearby home.

“There is no procedure the city has to do that,” Swanson said. “It would be very expensive to build back there.”

Kittams said he had wanted to purchase the lots as an investment.