Altoona should not ignore any potential resource in the fight against blight.

That’s why the city should revive the Vacant Property Review Board, which has been dormant since about 2008.

Evidence in the form of blight — now and perhaps as far back as 2008 — has shown how inactivity of the review board can affect this municipality’s work to reduce the number of problem properties.

Relegating the review board to an entity of inactivity probably should have been avoided and, hopefully, that will change in the near future.

As part of acknowledging updated thinking about the review board in question, the city should make clear that it is determined to move forward aggressively against the agitating problem of blight in the most vigorous and comprehensive way possible.

VPRB can aid in making that possible on behalf of the “neighbors of blight” as well as the city as a whole.

The second paragraph of a Feb. 7 Mirror front-page article summed up benefits of vacant property boards like the one that formerly existed and which currently is being planned for revival.

“Under state law, VPRBs can certify buildings as blighted,” the paragraph begins, “fulfilling one of the requirements for taking such properties by eminent domain in preparation for renovation projects, according to (redevelopment) authority solicitor Patrick Fanelli.”

The article’s following paragraph expanded that point, as follows:

“Without an active VPRB, the (redevelopment) authority can’t use eminent domain to eliminate ‘spot blight,’ meaning the authority would need to rely instead on negotiating with owners to sell or give the properties away — a strategy the authority has used … but one that doesn’t work when owners can’t be located or are uncooperative.”

According to the article, identifying a set of certain criteria is necessary for the VPRB to declare a property blighted. Having such criteria in place is helpful in terms of ensuring public confidence regarding what properties are designated blighted — that none are being unfairly targeted and that none that should be targeted are being ignored.

The Feb. 7 article listed some of the criteria for determining whether a property is blighted, including dangerous conditions such as holes in the roof and floors in danger of caving in, as well as repeated code violations that remain uncorrected.

Cumberland Valley Township in Bedford County could benefit from a hard-working VPRB. In that township, along Route 220 several miles north of the Maryland border, is a log structure with a collapsing roof and other parts of the structure that appear to be grossly unstable.

For now, whether the house will someday collapse onto the highway can only be a matter of conjecture.

Also for now, the structure certainly isn’t a tourism asset, despite a date attached to one of its walls.

Meanwhile, there are people living in that area who believe the structure is housing snakes.

The bottom line is that blight breeds more blight, and not tackling blight early-on is a prescription for greater difficulty when efforts to address it finally do begin.

It is important that there be no delays in resurrecting Altoona’s VPRB process so that when spring and summer arrive, the city will be ready and able to make headway in resolving blight problems before they become more difficult to eradicate.

Editor’s note: On Monday, Vice Mayor Dave Ellis announced Mayor Matt Pacifico’s intention to make the necessary nominations to repopulate the VPRB.