In the fight against blight, communities have to find ways to tell their citizens, and the general public, about their strategies, according to Denise M. Devine, a real estate agent from Schuylkill Haven.
At a two-hour Fair Housing/Blight Workshop on the topic at Schuylkill County Courthouse on Thursday, Devine asked a collection of municipal and county officials if there was an easy way to keep track of the numerous ordinances being developed in recent years.
"Can something be developed on the county website? Something that could help us keep up with things if they change? When I'm referring to a certain community, I don't want to say something that's wrong," said Devine, one of more than 50 people who came out to the event which was hosted by Schuylkill County and held in Courtroom No. 1.
"It's really up to a municipality to get a web page together or have some kind of public information. Believe me, I understand. I'm operating as a building inspector in multiple areas. I get calls all the time about this municipality or that asking me about code enforcement. And sometimes I don't have the information. So my only answer would be to contact the municipality," Kyle Kehoe, code official with Alfred Benesch & Co., Pottsville, said.
"I know from personal experience it's sometimes hard to get a hold of people in smaller municipalities. If they don't have a full-time staff, it can be difficult," Leo Schwartz, the City of Pottsville's business privilege tax administrator, said.
Gary R. Bender, county director of community development, said county officials would like to see the development of such a database, and some concepts are being discussed.
"It's not real yet. We're in a developmental stage, hoping to come up with a good proposal," Bender said.
In recent years, blight has become a regular topic of discussion for some municipalities and some, like the City of Pottsville, have established committees and new policies to deal with it.
Bender was pleased with the turnout at the workshop, which included panel discussions from local experts.
Panel 1, "Establishing community standards through code adoption, enforcement and marketing," featured Kehoe and Schwartz. James J. Rhoades Jr., an environmental group manager for Alfred Benesch, served as moderator.
Panel 2, "Screening and leasing rental units in compliance with fair housing laws," included four speakers: Frederick J. Fanelli, an attorney from Pottsville; Tim Hale, executive director of the Schuylkill County Housing Authority; Dan McGrory, director of the Schuylkill County Administrative Offices of Mental Health/Developmental Services and Drug and Alcohol Programs; and Jerry Achenbach, housing director for Service Access and Management Inc. Ted Dreisbach, executive director of Schuylkill Community Action, Pottsville, served as moderator.
Offering blunt advice to officials and landlords at the end of his speech, Fanelli said, "Know the rules. Understand them. Protect yourself. And document. And in connection with documentation, be consistent."
Panel 3 will focused on demolition, conservatorship and the International Maintenance Code. It featured David Petravich, building code officer for the City of Pottsville, and Edward M. Brennan, an attorney from Pottsville. Bender served as moderator.
On the topic of conservatorship, Joseph Palubinsky, borough manager of the Borough of Shenandoah, asked Brennan, "The key is having someone who's interested in purchasing the property?"
"Yes," Brennan said.
Schuylkill County Commissioner George F. Halcovage Jr. thanked the crowd for coming out.
"The most important thing that this shows is that we have public-private partnerships and good communication. A lot of times, it's a lack of communication the causes problems. Someone assumes that the other person knows. These are the types of things we need to work together to make things better," he said.