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City Council on Monday approved two contracts for a total of $165,000 to demolish 13 blighted structures, using city discretionary funds to eliminate a chronic backlog of derelict buildings.
The money -- $103,000 of it from reserves -- will supplement the city's regular demolition program, funded by federal Community Development Block Grants, that has never been able to keep up with the pace of new blight.
The ongoing CDBG program funds a two-person in-house crew that will take down five more derelict homes between now and June at a cost of $70,000, so that a total of 18 structures are set to be razed.
The newly planned demolitions will not only eliminate the backlog, but will prevent those buildings from being transferred at upcoming tax sales, which would have led to delays due to requirements for notification of new owners, according to City Manager Ken Decker.
While some of those transfers could have resulted in renovations, most of them would not, officials have said previously.
Sometimes, such tax fund transfers have forced the city to delay demolitions three or four times, according to Codes Director Rebecca Brown.
It's imperative to get rid of derelict buildings quickly, if they are not going to be renovated, because of the deleterious effect they have on neighborhoods, council members said.
Those effects include reduction of the values of nearby properties and a disincentive for other owners to improve those nearby properties.
Demolishing the derelict buildings doesn't mean the properties involved won't go to tax sale -- but they'll only be vacant lots, which aren't nearly as big a problem, officials said.
The city could lien those lots for the cost of the demolitions, but, except in special cases, that probably doesn't make sense, because it would create a disincentive for future development, Decker said.
The city has relied solely on the CDBG program for years, but in addition to its funding limitations -- the city has typically allocated about $500,000 a year to the program -- it carries bureaucratic requirements that can delay demolitions, according to Brown.
Those requirements, which include the city Planning Commission determining the property blighted and sometimes determinations by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, can take six months or longer to work through, according to Brown.
Eliminating the demolition backlog won't stem the flow of bad properties, Decker said.
Such properties are "like bad pennies," he said.
The city awarded a $102,000 contract to Earthmovers Unlimited for demolition of 10 buildings and a $63,000 contract to G&R excavating and Demolition for demolition of three buildings.
The city can demolish buildings based on public health and safety considerations in the International Property Maintenance Code.
A little more than a decade ago, the city stopped taking possession of blighted properties through condemnation, prior to demolitions, because the alternative was quicker and more efficient.
Eliminating the demolition backlog highlights the need for the city to encourage development on new homes, given that blight is outpacing new home construction, said Councilman Bruce Kelley.