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Altoona City Councilman Bruce Kelley probably did not appreciate fully the significance of a comment he made at a council meeting in January when he and his municipal colleagues were brainstorming how best to promote housing construction within the boundaries of the Mountain City.
Actually, the comment was more than an observation. In fact, it merits being the foundation for what ought to be forthcoming on the city's housing front this year and in years beyond.
For those who might have missed Kelley's words or forgotten them, they are worth repeating:
"We tear down and never replace" -- creating jack-o-lantern-type neighborhoods. "We need to create an opportunity for (more) people to live here."
His use of "jack-o-lantern" referred to the empty spaces between homes following razing of adjacent properties. Some Halloween enthusiasts embracing a fun-loving, child-like spirit might opt to paint the proverbial picture as what a witch riding a broomstick would see while flying over Altoona on Halloween night.
Kelley likened the empty spaces to those between the teeth of Halloween pumpkins, which definitely rings true.
Other council members expanded the discussion by alleging there has not been enough effort to address the blight situation, even though the topic, in recent years, has been the focus of discussion at council -- and at times it appeared city leaders really were determined to get something done.
Unfortunately, for whatever reason, that determination seemed to, at least in part, fall by the wayside.
True, blight is a complicated problem but, being complicated, it requires continuous effort, not a start-and-stop, start-and-stop sputtering initiative.
"There's no hard-and-fast plan," said Councilman Joe Carper, even though the city has been razing 10 to 12 blighted homes per year, usually with Community Development Block Grant money.
City officials probably were correct in suggesting that the opportunity will exist to make truly positive inroads when the Redevelopment Authority completes an inventory of available vacant lots. However, again, start-and-stop should be cast aside in favor of start-and-remain-committed.
What was troubling at the January meeting, though, was how out of touch the council seemed to be regarding specific substantive actions available, when the topic of blight removal and filling newly vacant parcels has for years not been a stranger on the municipal-government front.
However, a couple of weeks later the council engaged in a good discussion about embarking on a
housing-repair initiative that seems doable if the council does not again fall victim to start-and-stop.
At the meeting, Rebecca Brown, director of the Department of Codes and Inspections, proposed the city allocate some of its $39.6 million of American Rescue Plan money to create a program to help needy homeowners make needed repairs to their homes.
The city currently operates a program for repairs but, Brown noted, it is "whole house only" and, thus, is capable of accommodating fewer homes than the kind of smaller-sized-repairs program she is suggesting. Regarding the current program, Brown said it usually is not helpful for smaller needs such as, for instance, a new porch.
The bottom line is city government has some important decisions to make and it needs to make those determinations based on the current jack-o-lantern situation here and how other places are addressing similar issues.
If that doesn't happen, there just will be more start-and-stop -- indefinitely.