Properties that have languished on a list of blight in the City of Bradford for more than a decade were among those declared public nuisances by the Board of Health at this week’s meeting.
The board acted on properties at 78 Cornen St., 94 and 144 East Ave., and 66, 74 and 76 South Kendall Ave. at the meeting.
Board member Kris Goll asked why the property maintenance department wasn’t issuing fines to the owners. Regarding the South Kendall Avenue properties, Mike Schreiber, supervisor of property maintenance and code enforcement, replied, “These properties have been on the list for so long they were on there when code enforcement was under the fire department.”
In fact, the South Kendall Avenue properties had been on the blight list since before Mayor Tom Riel first took office in 2008, and were discussed when the Chelsea Lane subdivision was created around 2006.
Putting any sort of a citation on them now could hinder the ability to move forward with declaring them nuisances and getting rid of them, board president Fred Proper explained.
Goll said, “The landowner has been getting a freebie for so many years.”
Proper said they can look into it further. “Many of these properties we’re trying to catch up on now,” he added. “Whenever we’re moving forward with a property, I can look into it.”
City solicitor Mark Hollenbeck said the city could file a municipal lien against a property. The discussion then turned to a common misconception about ownership of properties when they end up in the county repository — the properties still belong to the original owner.
Goll added that he thinks the city needs to do more to collect fines or some sort of remuneration for its efforts in demolishing the properties.
Two properties that were declared nuisances were also approved for hardship waivers — 78 Cornen St., owned by Vincent and Ruth Lushbaugh of Smethport, and 76 S. Kendall Ave., owned by James and Barbara Lasher in Ohio.
Regarding the Cornen Street property, Brandon Plowman, health director, told the board that the structure is in an overall poor condition. The rear porch is falling off the house, sections of the foundation have holes or have shifted, the front porch is in poor condition, and another structure on the property is leaning.
Riel asked, “The house is structurally unsound?”
Plowman said, “Yes, the whole structure is starting to lean toward the neighbor’s house.”
He had spoken with the owners, he said, and they do not have the finances to tear it down.
At 76 S. Kendall Ave., the property is very difficult to access, Plowman said. The front porch collapsed with debris nearly to the road. The structure is not fit for occupancy, he said. There’s no foundation, missing or broken windows and a partially collapsed roof, to name a few issues.
At 94 East Ave., the owner was Jill Grolemund, who passed away in 2014.
Plowman said combustible materials are throughout the structure, the front porch stairs are not connected to the home, the utilities have been disconnected for years, the roof is moss-covered and in poor condition, windows and siding are missing and there is rubbish inside and outside the structure. “I did not go inside,” Plowman said. “I did not feel comfortable entering this structure. I was unsure of what could be in there.”
At 144 East Ave., owned by Freeman Walters who lives in Indiana, Plowman said it fits the bill as a dangerous structure. The roof has leaked and the floors are spongy, there are no utilities and the sanitation is poor, the porches are collapsing and the siding is pulling off the house. Plowman said, “It doesn’t appear there is a foundation under the structure and it is sinking on one side.”
When he was there to inspect the property, there was something inside the house, but he was not sure if it was a person or an animal. The house has been vacant since 2015.
The property at 66 S. Kendall Ave., owned by Gordon Taylor, was also deemed a dangerous structure.
“This structure has been vacant for quite some time and it appears this structure is an attractant for squatters,” Plowman said. All utilities and service lines have been removed. The exterior walls are deteriorated, multiple windows are missing, the roof is moss-covered and in poor condition and the house is not secured. “It does appear someone has been staying in there.”
Taylor owns rental properties in the city, and Goll asked if the department had considered citing him for this one.
Plowman said because the property is in the county repository, “He made the assumption he did not own the structure.”
Riel made the motion for the property to be declared a public nuisance, “something that should have been done 15 years ago.”
At 74 S. Kendall Ave., the owner Jo Vanerstrom passed away around 2009. Plowman said, “It’s been vacant for a number of years and is in poor condition.”
The roof is in poor condition, there are obvious signs of wildlife in and around the structure, there is a large opening under the house that “I would estimate a bear could fit in,” he continued. The back porch roof collapsed, the roof on the structure has vegetation on it, the house is on piers and is sinking.
All of the structures were declared nuisances.
There are board of health meetings every Tuesday at 5 p.m. in January. While Jan. 21 will be an appeal hearing, the rest are to consider a total of 15 properties for public nuisance designation.
