Three more dilapidated buildings in Bradford City will get the wrecking ball.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Bradford City Council accepted bids to demolish homes at 5 Amm St., 19 Thompson Ave. and 113 W. Corydon St. Each contractor will demolish the structure and transport the debris to the McKean County Landfill.
Council accepted bids from 6-V Excavation to demolish 5 Amm St. for $3,680 and 19 Thompson Ave. for $5,424, as well as a bid from Tom Vickery to demolish 113 W. Corydon St. for $4,654.
The move is part of the city’s ongoing struggle to fight blight.
Mayor Tom Riel suggested the long-empty homes have not been contributing to the tax base, and Sara Andrews, executive director of the Office of Economic and Community Development, agreed that it’s true they have not brought in property taxes “for quite awhile.”
Also at the meeting, council accepted a proposal to have Mackin Engineering Co. perform engineering design work for streetscape improvements in the Downtown Historic District for $213,000. Mackin was one of five engineering firms to submit proposals.
The design work, which will be paid with an ARC grant and local donations, will include all of Main Street, Veterans Square, Congress Street and Pine Street.
Officials further granted permission to apply for funding for projects at the YWCA Bradford and Bradford Regional Medical Center.
Council authorized the filing of applications for $1 million grants for each the YWCA and BRMC through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. Both organizations have agreed to provide matching funds to the RACP grant, should they receive it.
The YWCA plans to use the funding for the purchase and rehabilitation of the former Second Ward Elementary School building in the city’s Second Ward Neighborhood Revitalization Area, where its offices will be relocated.
Meanwhile, BRMC has slated capital improvements projects.
In other news, David Lunden was reappointed by council to the City of Bradford Planning Commission for four-year term ending January 2021. Council also appointed Karen Hector, city treasurer, as the primary voting delegate on the Tax Collection Committee and Councilman Fred Proper as the alternate voting delegate on the committee.
Additionally, council passed on second reading an ordinance correcting wages that were listed incorrectly in the 2017 wage ordinance. The correct wages for the three employees were first announced at the Jan. 10 meeting.
Council will hold its next regular meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 14.
