EMPORIUM — Fines have been levied against the owner of four condemned Emporium Borough properties with structures that formerly housed tenants but have fallen into serious disrepair.
Matthew Grimone, 59, of Shippen Township, entered guilty pleas to eight civil complaints filed against him — two filed for each non-compliant residence — at a hearing held in November in front of Magisterial District Judge Barry Brown. On Thursday, an additional hearing was held in order to determine whether or not Grimone had put forth enough of an effort to bring the properties back up to code to warrant dismissal of the fines.
The properties are located at 359 East Fifth St. Extension, 112 and 114 South Broad St., 151 and 153 East Fourth St., and 36 West Fourth St. Four of the civil complaints are for Violation of the Construction Code filed by Code Enforcement Officer Russ Braun, and four are dangerous structure violations filed by Chief Dave Merritt of the Emporium Borough Police Department. All four structures have been condemned for more than two years.
During Thursday’s hearing, Grimone presented photographs and anecdotal evidence concerning improvements and efforts undertaken to rehabilitate the four buildings. He indicated that doors and windows on the first floor of the buildings had been secured, loose siding and similar materials had been torn down or reattached, and porches had been stabilized at several locations. He also stated that he had spent much of the time removing food waste, garbage, debris and other items from within the residences and around the properties.
“I did the food garbage first. There are still places where papers and things are still around, but I’m working on that,” said Grimone. “My plan is to continue on working on the buildings and put them back to a condition where they meet the borough codes.”
Braun, Merritt and Borough Manager Don Reed testified that, while it was clear an effort had been made to remedy some of the problems, not as much progress had been made as was expected.
All three stated they would have felt better about Grimone’s progress if he had contracted with a construction firm for future mandated work, such as removing the porches on both Fourth Street structures. Grimone did present evidence of email discussions with several contractors, but they were dated the day prior to the hearing.
“Although we do see that some work has been completed … you didn’t provide us with any documentation of contracts,” said Braun. “You don’t have anybody under contract, even though you knew the deadline was today.”
Braun said that he visited all four sites the morning of the hearing, but was unable to access the interior of the structures. When asked by Grimone whether the structures could be salvaged, Braun was unable to answer, stating that he had not been inside, and several attempts to meet with Grimone at the properties were not reciprocated. Merritt and Borough Manager Don Reed deferred to Braun, as neither is qualified to offer that type of opinion; they are only qualified to determine whether borough ordinances have been violated.
It was suggested that Grimone should hire or consult with a professional contracting firm to determine if the structures can be made habitable again.
The officials did point out that some of the major issues were addressed on the interior of the residences. At least two of the structures had plumbing issues, and the bathrooms and tubs were filled with feces and garbage. Merritt said the photographs provided proved that those issues have been remedied. However, Merritt, Reed and Braun all stated that they did not believe Grimone’s repairs had gone far enough during the 60-day period, and that it did not appear Grimone had done much work during the first 30 days.
“All the structures, in my opinion, are still a danger to the public,” said Braun.
“At this point, they’re definitely not in compliance,” Reed said. “We believe he still failed to meet what needed to be done in 60 days.”
Brown determined that Grimone had not met the standard needed for the buildings to no longer be dangerous public nuisances, and ordered him to pay a fine of $2,329.92.
“The court recognizes you’ve made some efforts, but you did not get far enough,” said Brown. “I’m of the opinion that these monies could have been better used, either to get a contractor or to raze the buildings.”
The assessed fines were at the low-end of the allowable penalties, which can cost up to $1,000 per violation. Brown said that he and Grimone would have to have a discussion to determine if a payment plan for the fines is an option.
Fines can now be issued daily for identified problems that are not being addressed at those structures.
Reed said borough officials are working to deal with ordinance violations in the borough, many of which have been persistent problems. Six letters were sent to property owners last week to begin processes similar to the one for the above-listed structures, and at least four more are expected to go out by the end of the coming week.
