COAL TOWNSHIP, SHAMOKIN TAKE CONTROL OF 13 BLIGHTED PROPERTIES
Sarah DeSantis, Newsitem.com, September 11, 2015
SUNBURY - Coal Township and Shamokin officials are celebrating a win in the fight on blight after a judge ruled Thursday they could take control of 13 blighted properties. Judge Charles H. Saylor awarded Coal Township and Shamokin conservatorship of the long-dilapidated properties owned by Helene, Russell, Esther and Pauline Kolody.
"It was a smashing victory," Coal Township solicitor Vince Rovito said of Saylor's ruling. The ruling allows Coal Township and Shamokin to perform necessary work on the blighted properties, though the Kolodys will still retain ownership.
Rovito said the next step in the process will be presenting the plan for the properties to Saylor, which he anticipates will include demolition of the majority of the structures. After the work is completed, everyone will return to court to see if the conservatorship will continue or if the properties will be fully returned to the Kolodys.
A grant is funding the conservatorship process and blight demolition work, said Rovito, but the Kolodys will still be on the hook to foot the bill. "If they want their properties back, they have to pay back the cost," he said.
Though all siblings Helene, Russell and Pauline Kolody and their mother, Esther Kolody, are named in the petition, Pauline and Esther are thought to be deceased. Saylor delayed beginning the 10:15 a.m. hearing by approximately 10 minutes to see if Russell or Helene Kolody would appear. He then sent the bailiff to the first floor of the courthouse to ensure they were not lost or at the security post before commencing the hearing without them.
Shamokin code officer Rick Bozza, Coal Township code officer Chris Petrovich and Shamokin Cpl. Bryan Primerano testified on behalf of the two municipalities, which joined forces in December to file the conservatorship petition. Nine of the properties are in Coal Township, and four are in Shamokin. Bozza, Petrovich and Primerano showed pictures taken as recently as Wednesday to Saylor and described the ongoing decay of the properties. Bozza and Petrovich testified that the structures had broken windows, collapsing roofs and falling porches. Buildings are unsecured to intruders, fire hazards and negatively affect their surroundings, they said, and all of the buildings are vacant.
Primerano said the address listed on Russell Kolody's tax records and drivers license, 603 W. Mulberry St., Coal Township, is abandoned, but he located Kolody in a house along Trevorton Road Oct. 22, 2013. Primerano told Saylor that after knocking on the door for a lengthy period of time, Kolody answered. He explained to Kolody the various issues regarding his properties and handed him three letters describing the violations, charges and necessary repairs. He granted Kolody thirty days to begin making changes, but now, almost two years later, Kolody has yet to begin work.
"Nothing was done on them," Primerano said, noting the citations he's issues have escalated into a summary warrant for Kolody's arrest. He has not been able to locate Kolody since that interaction, and legal serving fees for the conservatorship case total approximately $4,000. This bill includes attempts to deliver paperwork to the elusive Kolodys, paper notices attached to the Kolody properties and advertisements.
The properties in the Kolody conservatorship are 442, 603 and 607 W. Mulberry St. and 524 N. Second St., all in Shamokin, and 5 and 7 N. Bay St., 1445 to 1451 W. Chestnut St., 1550 W. Lynn St., 406 Cypress St. and 1721 W. Independence St., all in Coal Township.