Bradford City’s Board of Health heard about several rundown properties Tuesday evening prior to the regular city council meeting.
The board first heard from Dennis Quick, owner of 92 Summer St. He appealed a July 31 order that declared the property a public nuisance.
“I agree with everything on that (order) that needs fixed,” Quick said, adding that he has recently been doing a lot of work at the home.
After several minutes of discussion between Quick and city officials on what needs repaired, the board agreed to continue the appeal hearing until Oct. 23. In the meantime, Quick is to make progress such as removing a collapsed porch and addition and hauling the debris off the property.
Special counsel Sean Hvizdzak gave a brief update on 24 Rochester St., owned by CMT Enterprises. The property was declared a public nuisance on July 31, and Hvizdzak is just waiting for the appeal period to end before moving forward.
Regarding 63 Forman St., which was also declared a public nuisance on July 31, the board voted to rescind that order in anticipation of a sale to Curt Wallace. They will revisit the order if the sale does not happen. At the July meeting it was indicated that the property belongs to RBJ Catalogue.
Finally, four properties were declared public nuisances, though of those four, only one was receiving the designation for the first time.
Three — 15 Cole Ave., owned by Frederick Struss of Pittsburgh; 8 Harris Court, owned by George Cabisca of Russell; and 9 Harris Court, owned by Catherine Walker — were deemed such on Aug. 8, 2017; however, the process had to be started again due to paperwork mistakes that occurred during staffing changes.
The fourth property, 101 School St., is owned by the late James Deloe and administered by his brother, Robert Deloe. Building inspector Mike Cleveland explained the property has been the victim of vandalism and damage from the elements, and now had missing structural elements and is full of garbage.
Cleveland also went over the issues at the Harris Court and Cole Avenues properties, and the board voted that all four should be considered public nuisances.
A brief council meeting followed the board of health meeting.
Council voted to accept $969,150 in Transportation Alternative Program funds. The money will go toward streetscape enhancements on Main Street between Festival Way and East Main Street.
For another order of business, council authorized city officials to apply for two grants on behalf of the local Office of Economic and Community Development.
The hope is for a Keystone Communities Main Street Facade Grant of up to $50,000 through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to be used for facade improvements in the downtown historic district, as well as Certified Local Government funds of up to $10,000 through the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission for a review by preservation consultants of city ordinances related to historic preservation and for best practices training for the city’s Historic Architecture Review Board.
Also regarding facade improvement grants, council approved two such grants to Henry Sauer for property at 1 Main St. A $5,000 grant will be used to replace 12 windows on the Mechanic Street side of the structure, and a $2,637.50 grant will be used to replace six windows on the Main Street side.
Council’s next regular meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Sept. 11.
