Monessen council on Monday began to purchase blighted properties – some targeted for demolition – in a long-term effort to revitalize the struggling city.
Council unanimously approved payment of $26,950 to the Westmoreland County Tax Claim Bureau for 77 properties and $6,083 in related fees to the county Recorder of Deeds office.
The money came from $33,033 from the county planning department in both county and state dollars.
Twenty-three of the properties contain structures that need to be demolished, while 54 parcels are vacant lots.
Mayor Lou Mavrakis touted the acquisition as Phase I of a plan in which the city will acquire the properties in groups. The mayor said at least 10 structures will be immediately targeted for demolition – four in the 400 block of Motheral Avenue.
“This is an effort to clean up the whole block, so we can eventually clean up the city,” Mavrakis said. “What you're looking at tonight is a start. … Fighting the blight was my whole concept when I was running for office.”
A small park will eventually be developed on two parcels at the corner of Motheral and Sixth Street, Mavrakis said.
“We're going to get about 10 properties per month deeded over to the city,” Solicitor Gary Matta said. “We told them what 10 we wanted first so we can hopefully get them demolished this summer.”
The city is expected to receive Community Development Block Grants in September, which could help with demolition costs, Matta said.
The overall plan is to purchase 264 blighted properties from the county for $92,400 – costing $350 per parcel.
All the properties are in the county repository, placed there after they went unsold in sheriff's sales and consequently cleared of tax debt.
The county commissioners previously approved the purchases, which will occur in phases.
No sale
Council denied the sale of three properties to JLH Development: 1017 Knox Ave. and 213 and 648 McKee Ave.
Mavrakis said the owner has been known to purchase properties in the city in an attempt to “flip” them online for profit with no intention of development or maintenance.
In a related move, council hired the law firm Dodaro, Matta & Cambest to draft an ordinance that will allow Monessen to operate under state Act 90 – a blight enforcement law.
The 2012 law empowers local governments to take control of blighted properties and cancel tax liens and bank foreclosures so the land can be sold to responsible owners or developers.
Matta said the ordinance would allow the city to go after property owners cited for code enforcement violations.
“Prior, you were only able to go after that property and cite them there. Now, if owners have other types of assets you can go after them also,” Matta explained.
“Maybe here in Monessen, someone owns a blighted property, but they own a home worth a considerable amount of money somewhere else. As long as it's in this commonwealth, we can start going after that for them to be adherent to their property here in Monessen.”
Council unanimously approved a $3,000 stipend for maintenance and upkeep of the Civic Center, while providing $6,700 in grant money to pay for four wall-mounted heaters at the site.
Monessen Civic Recreation Authority Chairman Eugene “Geno” Sedlak said the heaters might seem expensive, but they have drastically lowered the building's heating bills.
“It's still a huge bill but a tremendous drop,” Sedlak told council, adding he was “ecstatic” Monessen children will continue to have a place to play.
“That building needs a lot of work, and all that money will go into the building. We plan on doing the floor again, trying to get the ceilings panted.”
Mavrakis vowed to allot the remainder of his 2015 salary, approximately $4,000, to the Civic Center. The mayor initially donated his salary to the city to be used for demolition.
The mayor twice asked if any council members would be willing to do the same.
Only Councilman John Nestor responded, saying he had already donated his salary for demolition.
The only argument occurred when Mavrakis took exception to a motion that would have allowed Raise Your Voice/Communities That Care to use City Park pavilions at no charge
The mayor asked why some organizations pay rent while some don't. The mayor's comment elicited grumbling from some attending the meeting.
Councilwoman Patty Bukowski countered that some organizations are nonprofit and should not be charged.
Councilman Josh Retos said council needs to create and approve a “uniform policy” for rentals.
That motion – and the scheduled April 4 Easter egg hunt at City Park – was tabled at the suggestion of Matta.
Retos said the city will still hold the designated dates and times for each location should council approve the requests at a future meeting.
Rick Bruni Jr. is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at rbruni@tribweb.com or 724-684-2635.
