GIRARDVILLE - New homes that have replaced dilapidated buildings in Girardville were the focus of a tour Wednesday by representatives of the state Department of Community and Economic Development, which provided much of the funding for those revitalization efforts.
About $16 million has been used in Schuylkill County through Schuylkill Community Action to construct new homes for people who meet low-income guidelines who also have the ability to obtain mortgages to purchase the homes.
SCA is a private, nonprofit organization incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, with its primary purpose to coordinate and focus all available resources upon the needs of low-income county residents, enabling them to obtain adequate, affordable housing and secure opportunities to achieve self-sufficiency, according to the SCA website.
The DCED representatives were part of the agency's three-day "On-The-Road" tour of northeastern Pennsylvania, which included Wayne, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Monroe, Carbon and Schuylkill counties. Wednesday was the final tour day, ending in the county.
The tour began at borough hall for a time to hear an overview of the program. Attending were representatives from DCED, including C. Champ Holman, deputy secretary for Community Affairs and Development; SCA, Girardville Borough Council, county Commissioner Gary Hess, state Sen. David Argall, R-29, and state Rep. Neal P. Goodman, D-123.
Before the presentation began, SCA Executive Director Theodore R. Dreisbach explained, "I put some numbers together just for this meeting. With our community revitalization throughout the county, in the last 20 years we have put over $16 million invested in housing and community development-related projects. In weatherization projects, we have about $14 million invested in the past 20 years."
Dreisbach opened the presentation with an introduction on SCA and its projects.
"We always feel these projects improve our neighborhoods, make our communities more vibrant and they provide a more conducive environment for growth and business development that helps people of all incomes when you're able to provide a better business environment," Dreisbach said.
Dreisbach praised the positive efforts with borough officials in the past six years, working with county government and the Schuylkill County Redevelopment Authority.
"We all embarked on a strategy to eliminate blight in the borough and to develop affordable housing," Dreisbach said.
Dreisbach credited the late state Sen. James J. Rhoades in obtaining a $1 million grant that helped the housing initiative in Girardville.
"Initially, we obtained four vacant blighted structures on West Main Street, were razed with the help of the county demolition program and then developed three single-family homes constructed by Schuylkill Community Action," he said. "Now, we have families living in the three homes where before there were blighted structures."
The three homes at 2, 6 and 10 W. Main St., constructed and sold in 2009, were joined by another home constructed and sold at 27 E. Main St. at the site of the former Pyramid roller skating rink. They were followed by a third home that was built and sold at 43 W. Main St., and three additional homes at 6-10 S. William St., which have been rented.
Councilman Joseph Chiaretti spoke on behalf of the borough government, praising the work that has been done.
"I can't tell how proud we are of the work that has been done here," Chiaretti said. "The community has been taken aback by the revitalization that has happened here. On behalf of Mayor Ed Burns, council President Charles Marquardt, the rest of council and the community at large, we thank you enough for the work that has been done here."
Chiaretti said that the new housing has helped the borough become more self-sufficient, explaining that the additional property tax revenues are about $6,000 per year, which is equivalent to one mill.
"That $6,000 allows us to remove snow in the winter or demolish another building," Chiaretti said. "The development that we've seen gives us on borough council a heck of a lot of pride."
Chiaretti also praised the efforts and professionalism of SCA over the years.
Hess remarked, "The working partnerships that we developed in our county gets things done and that is very important. Like Ted explained, it is working together - from the local municipality to the state delegation and DCED and Schuylkill Community Action - that makes an impact."
Argall and Goodman shared the podium, explaining that they both share the common goals of fighting blight that will improve the appearance of neighborhoods and ultimately create and/or bring in new jobs. Argall said the programs are effective but it takes money, and he will try to find funds to be able to move into these neighborhood improvement programs. Goodman asked the DCED staffers to provide the funds so they can be used in the local communities.
Holman said that getting the funding is not easy these days but it is worthwhile to keep searching for the money.
"This is a program that we're proud of," Holman said. "God bless him, I have a tear in my eye for Jim Rhoades, who was my friend before he was my boss, and he was big on this stuff. Doing the programs are tough but they do raise the bar and make it better for our communities."
Holman added, "During the last three days, we've talked about public-private partnerships but I think there is something else. It's to have local government with pride, passion and perseverance."
The group left borough hall and drove to the 27 E. Main St. home, with SCA Director of Housing Jeffrey A. Feeser leading the tour, explaining something about the process in clearing the property and building the homes. Since the other sites were nearby, everyone walked to the other Main Street and William Street sites.
When asked why some homes were for purchase and other for rental, Dreisbach explained, "We felt that we wanted to do some rental and we have to sell the homes within a certain income range. They have to be low enough to meet the income guidelines, but yet they have to be high enough to get a mortgage from a bank. However, because of the mortgage situation in the last few years, we're having some difficulty in finding people to buy the homes, so we felt there was a need to do rental."
After the Girardville tour, the group went to the Shenandoah Valley Elementary School for a presentation on the SHINE After-School Program, which helps children who need a jump-start in math and reading, according to program Director Jeanne Miller. The program was developed in 2004 by Lehigh Carbon Community College in Tamaqua and has helped students in Shenandoah Valley and Mahanoy Area since 2006.