The West Deer supervisors have approved the demolition of properties on School Street and Eisenhower Drive.

The affected buildings are a duplex at 17-19 School St., and the structure at 1130-1132 Eisenhower Drive.

After a public hearing last week, the supervisors approved the demolitions 4-0 vote, with Supervisor Jennifer Mann absent.

The owners of 17 School St. are listed as Anna and Arthur Reynolds, who are deceased, and the owner of 19 School St. is listed as Lori Callwood.

Holy Spirit Revival and Evangelistic Ministries is listed as the owner of 1130-32 Eisenhower Drive.

None of the owners or any estate representatives were present at the hearing.

Harmit Bedi, township planning and zoning administrator, testified that the foundation of the School Street property was severely deteriorated, and the duplex is surrounded by wild overgrown vegetation. He said he didn’t enter the building because he did not feel it was safe.

Georgina DePasquale, who lives nearby on Church Street, was one of the neighbors who testified about the School Street property. She said she has been working for a couple of years to get the duplex demolished. She said it has created a chronic problem with rats breeding there and a tree is even growing on the front porch.

As for the Eisenhower Drive property, Bedi said,”The property has been neglected for a number of years.”

He said he spoke to someone from the Holy Spirit ministries at the site in recent weeks who told him he was in the process of correcting the code violations and needed more time. Bedi said a letter to that effect was sent to the township.

However, in visiting the property earlier in the day, he said there have not been improvements to it.

Richard Remo of McKees Rocks and his sister, Sandy Robinson, testified that their parents live next to the structure. They said it’s been neglected since they were living at home. They said it has attracted rats and wild animals and their parents fear that if it catches fire it could destroy or damage their house.

“The place is just not safe for anybody,” Remo said. “It needs to be gone.”

At the supervisors meeting that followed the hearing, the supervisors voted to demolish the structures.

Township Manager Dan Mator said the demolition will be done using township funds. He expects a contract to be awarded in September, with the demolition likely to begin by October.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)