Jeannette aims to demolish 4 blighted homes

The tall brush, broken windows and loitering at four abandoned West Jeannette homes soon will be a memory.

City council unanimously approved on Thursday spending $34,500 to demolish four blighted buildings on an otherwise well-kept street. The South 12th Street homes have been targets of break-ins recently after a Murrysville church youth group cleaned up the properties this summer, said Fire Chief Bill Frye.

“This is strictly to alleviate a public nuisance,” he said.

The work will be paid for with $31,692 from a demolition fund the city created a few years ago. The remainder will be paid from a bank account with proceeds from parking meters, according to Michelle Langdon, chief fiscal officer. That account was being closed and the money moved into the general fund.

The work will be done by Burczyk Contracting.

None of the three property owners attended a recent demolition hearing allowed under the property maintenance code, Frye said. A few people who live nearby testified about the detriment the blight has had on the neighborhood. The residents reported seeing people walking around the abandoned buildings at night, he said.

Thirty area middle-schoolers with Cornerstone Ministries this summer rid the properties of overgrown weeds and brush as part of a mission project. That work kick started the demolition process.

All of the properties are delinquent on their taxes and likely will end up in the county’s repository, Frye said. Some neighbors have expressed interest in purchasing the parcels for additional yard space.

Residents say the homes have been an eyesore for the last few years.