Latrobe considers county offer to inventory blighted properties

Latrobe is considering a partnership with Westmoreland County to inventory blighted properties, if city officials can get assistance in paying for the project.

According to Mayor Rosie Wolford, county staff would walk areas of the city to note dilapidated buildings, assess the extent of deterioration and determine what might be done to rehabilitate them before their conditions worsen.

“I think this is something we should consider,” Wolford said, noting the blighted areas would be mapped. “The county can then help us figure out a plan (for) what to do with these blighted properties.”

She said the city should be able to cover half of the $12,000 fee for the service but would hope to tap other sources for the remaining $6,000.

“It’s a good comprehensive strategy we can use to help identify, map out, prioritize and take a look at what we can do to help eliminate the blight,” City Manager Michael Gray said of the proposed inventory.

Latrobe has used community block grant funding, which is administered by the state, to help tear down dilapidated buildings, Gray noted. But, he said, the preferred outcome is to help owners upgrade the properties.

Wolford said county officials approached the city to determine its interest in such an assessment after completing a similar project for Monessen and beginning the process in Greensburg. The Greensburg project is being supported by a $10,000 grant from the Realtors Association of Westmoreland, Indiana and Mon Valley.

Council member Ralph Jenko said the proposed Latrobe inventory could “become a resource for people who want to improve the community and invest in our community,” by acquiring property to perhaps flip homes or start a business.

“Our city can’t grow any bigger,” he said. “It’s now almost totally occupied by buildings. The only thing we can do is identify and help market and point out, to people who want to develop in the city, areas that may be attractive financially for them.”

Council member Jim Kelley questioned whether funding assistance would be available to carry out any resulting plans for attacking blight in the city.

“I think that we’re going to be more inclined to get aid from the county to help fix the blight if they’re part of helping us identify it,” Wolford said.

Council member Christine Weller suggested city code enforcement officer Ann Powell might be able to inventory the town’s blighted properties. But Wolford said the county has software for mapping the properties.

Powell has taken on duties overseeing the city’s new stormwater management program, and the city is proposing to shift her code enforcement duties to a new officer who would be shared with nearby Derry Borough. Gray said the new office could be approved at a special Latrobe council meeting planned for Feb. 22.