MAHANOY CITY - The recent winds have caused even more problems for a dilapidated property in Mahanoy City that is heavily leaning to one side.
Steve Sisak, who lives next to the blighted property at 416-418 W. Centre St., made his regular visit to the borough council's monthly meeting to ask about remedying the building's condition.
From the Centre Street side, the vacant homes are in the middle of a block of row homes and show neglect and disrepair, but a look at the rear shows the roof caving in and the upper walls buckling, conditions that have existed for some time and have worsened within the past week.
Sisak, 420 W. Centre St., was the first to speak during the public portion at the meeting's start.
"Can you give me an update on the building?" Sisak said to borough solicitor Michael A. O'Pake.
"The petition is ready to be filed and all I'm waiting for is confirmation from the county and the school district that they will agree to abate the taxes," O'Pake said. "I have to include a letter in the petition that they consent to that. Once that's done, the petition will be filed (with the county court) and, hopefully, it will be acted upon by next month's (council) meeting."
"I hope so, because the winds did a number on both those properties today," Sisak said. "I'm fearing for my home that the pipes are going to come into my kitchen. The siding is coming off due to the winds. These houses are coming down. If you don't believe me, just come down to see."
"I believe you. I've seen those pictures years ago," O'Pake said.
"We can't sleep at night thinking about it," Sisak said. "Something has to be done."
"Hopefully, by next month's meeting, we'll have everything in order when we have the court order to allow us to possession of that property and take it down."
"It's going to have to be done soon or there will be four properties that are going to be crumbling," Sisak said, referring to his home and the one on the other side of the dilapidated property that is owned by Christy Sacks. "My dad and mom built that home and now I have to watch it coming down around me. I throw myself at your mercy to help me and all I get is the same runaround."
O'Pake said things have moved forward in dealing with the situation, though also noting that when Sacks filed for bankruptcy last year, it stopped the process for "a significant amount of time."
"It's upsetting. We're all on nerve pills down there," Sisak said. "It's sad. I am ready to move out, but we couldn't even sell our properties even if we wanted to. We just have to the properties decay like everything else in this town."
"What we're trying to do is have the (county) court strike the taxes," O'Pake said after the meeting. "I don't have the exact number now, but I think the back taxes are in excess of $10,000. If we take title to that directly from the property owner, and it hasn't gone through judicial sale or upset sale, those taxes are still due and owed."
O'Pake said the property taxes are owed to the borough, Schuylkill County and the Mahanoy Area School District.
"I would be filing a petition to have those taxes stricken, which according to my title search, the back taxes are the only lien again the property," O'Pake said. "Once that gets done, I'll be forwarding the deed to the property owner and when she gets it back to me, we (the borough) will own the property free and clear, and then we'll finalize the funding for that (demolition), but we've got to get those taxes taken care of first. And I'm sure the school district and county will be willing to abate the taxes."