Lansford Borough Council asked its solicitor to handle issues regarding a lease of borough property by a local business.

Councilman Joseph Butrie again brought up issues regarding the condition around the building in the former Silberline complex that Construction Clearance leases from the borough.

On Wednesday, he wanted council to send the business a 30-day notice to clean up the property or it will become borough property.

Council President Bruce Markovich questioned the move, because he wasn’t sure that the borough would even want “all that junk,” and Butrie said they could get a dumpster and haul it away.

Councilwoman Michele Bartek suggested a letter to the business asking them to store their items under roof, and not outside.

Solicitor Bob Yurchak suggested charging Construction Clearance more money for the additional space they’re using.

Markovich questioned if the borough could claim the items left outside of the buildings, and Yurchak didn’t believe so but the borough could send a letter saying to remove the items or they will be considered abandoned property.

Resident Joe Genits suggested Butrie and the code officer inspect the area, and write a letter to the business to bring it in compliance with the lease.

Butrie said they already inspected and took photographs, and the business is using property that it’s not entitled to under the lease, including storing numerous trailers.

Bartek pointed out that the business has cleaned up the property, but more work needs to be done.

“Let me ask you this Councilwoman Bartek,” Butrie said. “You are a landlord. You have a lease. The first time they break the lease, you may smack them on the hand.

“This has been going on for years. That place looks like a dump down there,” he said. “I’m not giving them another chance.”

Butrie has previously called for the borough to evict Construction Clearance from the property, and on more than one occasion since taking office this year.

Council, as a whole, moved to evict the business last year after rent payments were reduced or withheld due to issues with the building. Council then met with the business and worked to resolve the issues.

Bartek told Butrie that she doesn’t want to see a business in town “chased away,” and Butrie said he’s not chasing them away.

Yurchak intervened and suggested that council authorized him to do what he considers appropriate to address the situation.

Council agreed.

Butrie also wanted council act on a 6% late charge on any back rent from Construction Clearance, which he said was less than the 10% set in their lease.

Council members learned last week that the borough hasn’t assessed any late fees on back rent, when Bartek pointed out that the business had come current on its back rent.

Councilwoman Jennifer Staines said that when they met previously with Julia Atiyeh, the owner of Construction Clearance, they discussed the late fees, and she assumes they were never put in place or collected.

Butrie pointed out that late fee is 10%, and this isn’t the first time that this business has been late on rent.

“When I first came on, they were behind on the rent three months,” he said. “Now, this is a month again. How many times are we going to give them a chance?”

Council also agreed to allow Yurchak to handle the issues with the late fees as well.

Property cleanup

Construction Clearance came up again when council moved on Yurchak drafting an ordinance to hire contractors to perform property cleanup on abandoned and blighted properties.

Resident George Gilbert raised concerns after the motion passed 3-2 with council members Gwyneth Collevechio and Butrie opposed.

Gilbert pointed out that the borough, as a property owner, was in violation of its own property maintenance rules with the building that Construction Clearance rents.

“You own that property down there. You’re renting that property, and it’s a mess,” he said. “It’s been a mess for the last three years and nothing is happening. So, you’re going to hire a contractor … to clean up the mess that your renter put there.”

The borough is addressing the issue with Construction Clearance, Markovich said, but isn’t hiring a contractor to clean up that property — only the worst of the worst abandoned and blighted properties in the borough as deemed by council through this proposed ordinance.

“This is just going to be the worst properties in town that nobody takes care of,” Markovich said.

Gilbert called the former Silberline property one of the worst, calling it a disgrace.

“It’s an embarrassment to anybody who lives in this borough,” he said. “The borough is renting that property and they’re constantly disposing stuff outside. It looks like a dump.”