SHAMOKIN - The city, Northumberland County and Shamokin Area School District are close to an agreement to split the cost of razing a dilapidated structure along Market Street that has been an eyesore and potential safety hazard for several years.
The building was featured in a story in the June 4 edition of The News-Item. On Tuesday, County Commissioner Vinny Clausi met with city officials at the site, and by Friday, plans were being discussed, he said.
Clausi said he had the support of fellow commissioners Merle H. Phillips and Frank Sawicki in helping to fund the work.
"The city is working with the other taxing bodies to get the building down as soon as possible," said city clerk Steve Bartos.
Bartos said that some funding is available through a Community Development Block Grant.
"We want this to happen as soon as possible because of safety concerns," he said.
Although a decision couldn't be confirmed Friday, city solicitor H. Robert Mattis was confident that a decision will be reached during the Monday city council meeting.
"We are all in agreement this needs to be done, but there are procedural loops that still need to be taken care of as soon as possible," said Mattis. "There's a lot that has to be done yet, especially when using public funds."
Clausi said Friday he could not disclose information about a potential agreement, but was confident that the issue will be resolved Monday.
"We were working really hard the last two days, and we will resolve this one way or the other," he said. "We want to do what's right for the safety of the people, and I appreciate all the cooperation during the last few days."
Owner not responsible
The owner of the partially collapsed apartment building at 28-32 N. Market St. was found guilty on 21 counts for failing to repair the building last year, and is no longer responsible for it. City code enforcement officer Barry Stoud said he can no longer cite Orlando Development Inc., or its owner, Orlando Mirarchi, for violating the Building Official Code Administrators (BOCA) code because the building was offered at Northumberland County's upset sale in September due to $9,718.43 in unpaid taxes. Orlando Development owned the building since 1987. No one had lived in it since 2000.