Carbon County has officially set up guidelines and an application for municipalities looking to fight blight in a community.

The board of commissioners adopted the new demolition funds program guidelines recently in the hopes of helping municipalities take down buildings that have deteriorated beyond repair.

The program purpose is designed to eliminate blight influences in a community, as well as the potential health and safety hazards that are caused by these properties; reduce the reside of crime by removing vacant buildings that can be used for criminal activity and increase the value of adjacent properties.

The program will be overseen by the county Office of Planning and Development and is open to municipalities looking for help with a demolition project that meets the guidelines for the funds.

Commissioners’ Chairman Mike Sofranko said that the start money for the program was through a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development last year, noting that part of the guidelines will require 50% match with a maximum amount award of $25,000.

Eligible applicants must meet the following criteria:

• The property must be in public ownership through a municipality that can demolition the building and has the ability to impose a lien to recover costs;

• The property must qualify as blighted as outlined in the guidelines, including being a public nuisance, in need of substantial rehabilitation, is unfit for human habitation, is a severe risk of fire and danger to surrounding properties, is subject to unauthorized entry leading to potential health and safety risks, poses a risk to children, attracts vermin due to the deterioration and negatively affects the economic well-being of the community.

The property must also be located within Carbon County, be vacant, have documentation showing that it is a blighted property, as well as legal or code enforcement reports showing that all attempts at rectifying the matter have been exhausted.

Commissioner Wayne Nothstein said that this new program is in addition to starting a fee that is collected on all deeds recorded.

In January 2024, the $15 fee for every deed recorded began getting collected to begin a blight fund to be also used for demolition purposes for municipalities.

At that time, the county noted the municipalities should have a blight plan in place as part of the process.

The efforts were pushed in 2023 when members of several municipalities attended a commissioners meeting and urged the board to help them in the fight against blight.

During that meeting, then Nesquehoning Borough Councilwoman Abbie Guardiani, who was spearheading a newly formed county blight committee, asked why the county does not participate in Act 152, which allows for the fee per deed recorded.

Months later, the board authorized the recorder of deeds office to make preparations for collecting the fee beginning in 2024.

Municipalities interested in learning more about the new demolition grant program can contact the Office of Planning and Development at 570-325-3671.