Latrobe begins to clear pests from Main Street apartment building declared unsafe

Latrobe officials have taken the initiative to begin ridding a condemned apartment building of pests, but they’ve ordered that the six-story structure remain uninhabited until other safety concerns are addressed.

Local human service organizations helped tenants of the apartments at 333 Main St. find other accommodations after the city condemned the building March 8, citing a bug infestation and a need for improved security. Tenants had complained about cockroaches.

The following month, Craig McVicker, a consulting building code official hired by Latrobe, informed owner Jay Pan LLC of Export that the building also is considered an unsafe structure under requirements of the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code.

City manager Terry Carcella said the building’s problems include a leaking roof and an elevator that doesn’t work. “It’s been nonfunctional for a number of years,” he said of the elevator.

McVicker wrote in a notice issued April 17 to Jay Pan that the building “presents a clear and present danger to life and property. Occupancy of the structure … may not continue until all code-related issues are addressed to the satisfaction of the building code official.”

In a followup April 30 letter to the owner, McVicker said the building is unsafe, indicating that the “structural integrity of the existing building and the entirety of the structure is ‘compromised’ and deemed as being ‘structurally inadequate’ and presents a clear and present danger to the community and any potential occupants.”

He ordered that all utility service to the building be discontinued.

On Thursday, Jay Pan indicated an attorney representing the owner planned to meet with city officials about the property after July 30.

North Huntingdon attorney Anthony Rosner, included as an additional recipient of the April 30 letter, couldn’t be reached for comment.

Jay Pan’s appeal of the original condemnation remains on hold. An April 4 appeal hearing before city officials was postponed indefinitely at the owner’s request, Carcella said.

When the owner failed to treat the apartment building for pests, the city hired D-Bug Pest Control to handle the task and is planning to bill the owner for the cost, he added.

“Even though (the owner) emptied the contents of the building, it still had to be treated for bedbugs and roaches,” Carcella said.

He said an initial treatment was applied July 10, at a cost of $7,500. He said additional treatments may be required, at a cost of about $350 each.

Though the city now controls access to the building, another issue cropped up recently at the vacated structure.

Latrobe fire Chief John Brasile said he responded twice to false fire alarms in June triggered by malfunctioning switches in the building’s sprinkler system.

Brasile said the sprinklers will function if a fire were to occur. But, he said, to prevent more false alarms, he turned off the system that would alert 911 if the sprinklers activate.

He couldn’t pinpoint what caused the switches to malfunction.

“They have to get techs in to fix those things,” he said.