Code director issues citations at McDade parking lot; Longacre demolition set for pre-construction meeting late July

Lamont Collins, the borough’s new code director, told council on July 17 that his office has issued citations for vegetation, trash and pavement deficiencies at the McDade Shopping Center parking lot and intends to work with the court system to bring the property into compliance. Collins said the lot needs repaving, new striping and marked fire lanes; he also recommended the property secure a private towing contract to control unauthorized parking.

Collins said the borough will coordinate with the fire marshal and health department; the three agencies plan to inspect the shopping center together on the next business day and Collins said inspectors will document unsafe conditions and proceed with enforcement as allowed under borough code. “Every violation we see within that parking lot, there’s a citation going up to get those matters corrected,” Collins told council.

Separately, the borough’s engineer said a pre-construction meeting for demolition of 1219 Longacre is scheduled at the end of July, with demolition expected in August following that meeting. The engineer also said that ownership of certain properties has returned to a bank and that abatement costs (including fencing) are being liened and staff will pursue reimbursement from the bank contact.

Council asked staff to follow up promptly on property-owner contacts, coordinate joint inspections at the shopping center, and ensure abatement costs are billed to the responsible party now that ownership has changed. Collins provided a public contact number for code matters: (267) 512-0356.