GIRARDVILLE - The borough may take over a dilapidated Main Street property that is threatening neighboring buildings.
At a meeting Nov. 8, the council discussed a conservatorship plan for 13-15 E. Main St. The Schuylkill County Parcel Locator shows the property is owned by Terrence and Claudette Hodge.
Marietta Centiole raised concerns about the building at a September meeting. She lives at 1 E. Main St., which is also Centiole's Pizza. Her daughter, Kathy Centiole-Martone, owns Vanity Boutique, next to the Hodge building.
Borough solicitor Christopher Riedlinger said funds for demolition may be available through the county.
"It is a building that is evidently in such terrible condition that it looks like it is likely to fall over," Riedlinger said. "People at the county are willing to put up 75 percent of the cost, with the borough putting up the other 25 percent. Before any of this can happen, the borough has to obtain judicial approval to be able to demolish the property since it is privately owned."
Councilman Joseph Chiaretti said estimates were sought on the cost of demolition and they ranged from $30,000 to $70,000.
"If the cost is somewhere in the middle, such as $40,000, the borough will have to come up with $10,000, plus the estimated legal and engineering costs are about $2,000," Chiaretti said.
The borough could later sell the plot to recover some of the costs.
Riedlinger was given permission to seek control of the property under a conservatorship statute.
"Through the statute, municipalities are allowed to become in effect 'powers of attorney,' so to speak, over property," he said. "They are able to make decisions like whether or not the property should be demolished because of its condition. There will be expenses involved with this, such as court time, legal fees, engineering fees. We would need an engineer to testify in court about the condition of the property. Someone would have to render an expert opinion that the condition is such that the property is about to come down. It can be just based on pictures."
If a county judge approves the request for demolition, the borough can proceed.
"This is not going to be overnight," Riedlinger said. "Getting a judge to approve this is going to take several months."
His remarks prompted grumbling from the attending borough residents, some saying the building could fall down by then
"This is as reasonable as I can state it. It's not an overnight thing to get a judge to give a borough permission to tear someone's house down. That's just the way it is."
Riedlinger said borough code enforcement officer Jeffrey Wilson has filed citations on the property with Magisterial District Judge Christina Hale, Frackville, who has attempted to serve those citations but has been unable to find the owners.
"They've been unable to serve those citations and if a warrant hasn't already been issued for him (Terrence Hodge), it's going to be," Riedlinger said. "Even if a warrant is issued, if we don't know where he is, there is very little that can be done against somebody without being able to serve them with court papers."