Coaldale Borough Council has sold two vacant lots where they recently demolished blighted homes.

By selling the homes, the borough successfully returned to the tax rolls two properties that once racked up thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes.

Council members voted 6-0 Tuesday night to approve bids of $4,000 each for 138 and 140 Fisher Ave. Mike Doerr was absent.

In 2016, council had homes on the two properties taken down because they had created an eyesore and a potential safety hazard. They purchased them the year before for $1 each.

The winning bid of $4,000 was submitted by Ernie Hill, who according to property records owns a home directly across Fisher Avenue.

A third property that was listed for sale, 5 E. Phillips St., failed to sell because the only bid submitted was less than the $3,250 that the borough needs to cover the cost of demolition.

Coaldale does not get to keep the money from the sale of the properties because the demolition was funded through grant money.

The demolition was paid for by the Schuylkill County Commissioners, who in turn used CDBG money from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Coaldale applied for and received the funding in 2016.

It’s not the first time that the borough has put up the properties for sale. In 2015, the borough offered them as is, with the dilapidated buildings, but there were no takers.

Council also:

• Reappointed borough solicitor Robert Yurchak, auditor Lettish and Zipay and zoning hearing board solicitor Cynthia Yurchak.

• Announced that a new police cruiser will be delivered later this month. The vehicle was funded in large part with grant funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is currently being outfitted at Kovatch Ford.

• Donated four police radios to the Lansford Police Department. The radios cannot be used on Schuylkill County’s digital radio network.

• Waived a $25 fee for the Panther Valley High School boys’ basketball team to use the gym for practice last Sunday, while they did not have access to one at the high school. Claire Remington said council wanted to reward the team for a strong start to the season.

• Removed Mike Doerr from the streets committee after appointing him at the reorganization meeting last week. President Angela Krapf said he would not be suitable to serve because of a poor attendance record at council meetings. The committee is now made up of Claire Remington, Frank Hutta and Yvonne Stoffey.