The roof of 204 Center Ave. is caved in, and a temporary fence in front of the Jim Thorpe rowhouse is intended to keep pedestrians from being hit by falling wood.
The blight isn't new, and it isn't getting any better.
For over a decade, Jim Thorpe Borough Council has failed to demolish the dilapidated house, located in the center of a bustling residential neighborhood.
Parts of the house litter neighboring properties and the street. Raccoons and other animals can be heard scurrying across the rotting two-floor property, nearby residents said.
Frustrated neighbors have been asking whether municipal officials can't take action, or simply won't.
Officials recently explained what has been done, and how they believe the process must proceed.
Complaint: Issue dates to 2013
The house first broke Jim Thorpe’s housing safety regulations, the International Property Management Code, in 2013 according to a complaint filed against the property owner on April 3 by the borough through the Carbon County Court of Common Pleas.
This complaint is the newest in a series of legal actions and code violations against a series of owners identified only by fictitious company names, according to the complaint.
Inescapable for neighbors
204 Center Ave. is a duplex. It shares a foundation with 206 Center Ave., where homeowner Tracy Hunsicker struggles against 204’s decay on a daily basis.
She’s lived at 206 for the past 15 years, starting about two years before 204 showed signs of blight. Hunsicker said in a call in June that water seeps into her bedroom from 204 during bad storms and it’s getting worse.
Borough Council President Gregory Strubinger said at an Aug. 1 work session that the borough filed the newest complaint to obtain “authority to remove the property.”
A letter published by council on May 30 to its Facebook claims the borough “cannot simply tear down a building that has value without a court order.”
Nothing in the complaint states that a "valuable property" cannot be demolished without a court order.
Instead, the complaint states, “the Borough believes that the cost to remediate the subject property is in excess of the value of the property once remediated.”
Borough council asked the court to order the property owner to demolish 204 Center Ave. If the owner refuses to comply, the borough wants the court to allow it to demolish the building and take possession of the land through a lien.
Strubinger speculated the court could announce its decision in a few months.
“But like anything, when it gets into the courts, or anything in general, especially an issue like this — It’s something that unfortunately not able to be resolved simply,” said Strubinger. “Especially when you have people, like the property owner, that’s not taking responsibility.”
However, the borough is divesting $164,296 from its Housing Rehabilitation Program to upgrade its water plant. The county awarded Jim Thorpe the money as part of a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). Jim Thorpe’s had half of those funds since fiscal year 2022 and the other half since fiscal year 2023.
Strubinger spoke about the housing program at the Aug. 1 work session.
“That never really was the purpose of the CDBG money. That category, that title, was used as a placeholder until the borough decided what to do with the CDBG money,” said Strubinger.
Residents at the borough’s July 17 CDBG hearing were against the change, “all feeling the need to rehab 204 Center Ave. as a priority,” according to meeting minutes provided by county Right-to-Know Officer Jennifer Boger.
This is the second time the borough has diverted funds from 204 Center Ave. to other projects. Council voted on Sep. 8, 2022 to reallocate funds to other blight properties.
Resident demands transparency
Steve Ambrose, a Jim Thorpe resident, asked the council to be more transparent about its actions on the blighted property at Thursday’s work session. He suggested the council add 204 Center Ave. to its regular session agenda each month, because most residents hear about borough events and issues from Facebook. The borough’s getting criticized on social media for its inaction, he said.
“It’s making you look like you don’t care. I realize you do and I realize you are bound by certain laws and regulations, but it’s making it look like the borough council doesn’t care,” said Ambrose after a pause, visibly exasperated. “This is a hot-button topic. People are really angry. There’s kids playing around it now … I realize people up there have to drive by there every day and see it, but I can only imagine what the people on the other half of the house must be going through all the time.”
Strubinger shot back at Ambrose, stating the borough took action against 204 Center Ave.
“Steve, you are aware that the borough has secured a $100,000 grant for blight,” said Strubinger.
That $100,000 is in addition to the borough’s block grant it is trying to get reallocated to the local water system. The borough received those funds three years ago, according to its letter posted on May 30 to Facebook. The grant was part of a project to fix blight in three Carbon County municipalities. Palmerton and Leighton’s projects are already completed, according to borough council.
Maureen Sterner, the borough’s manager, added that council has spent around $15,000 of that money on engineering fees.
What’s next for 204 Center Ave.?
Sterner said the Carbon County Court of Common Pleas will hold a public hearing on the borough council’s complaint against 204 Center Ave. sometime in September or October.
“I don’t know if that means we are going to have a judge's decision at that time,” said Sterner.
Jim Thorpe resident Trish Spillman asked Sterner for the exact date of the hearing. Sterner answered curtly.
“Fine. Email me [for the date]. It’s scheduled. It’s a public hearing,” said Sterner.
There was no mention of posting the hearing date publicly on the borough’s Facebook or other social media.
Spillman begged council to take action on 204 Center Ave. by the end of the year. She said she didn’t want to go through another winter of watching the house fall.
“Once that hearing happens in September/October, are you ready to go forward? Have you made decisions that you are taking this property down? That’s all the community wants to hear, that this is actually going to happen,” said Spillman.
Sterner didn’t give a certain answer.
“Well, I think council has contacted the engineer after we had a call with [the Department of Community and Economic Development] regarding the blight money, to get updated estimates on what the remaining engineering is going to cost, so they have a current figure, so that they may discuss and make such a decision,” said Sterner.
Jim Thorpe Borough Council's next meeting is on Aug 8 at 6:30 p.m. at Jim Thorpe Area High School.
