Lackawanna County Land Bank approves acquisitions, conveyances and restricted lot-combination

The Lackawanna County Land Bank voted to approve a series of property actions at its meeting on April 9, 2025, including acquiring unsold tax-repository properties, conveying parcels under its property purchase program, entering option agreements to submit preemptive judicial sale bids on several Scranton properties and a site sought by the Lackawanna River Basin Authority, and allowing a Thornhurst Township buyer to combine two lots subject to a five-year restriction.

The actions matter because they clear title or secure control of properties that the land bank staff said are on demolition lists or necessary for municipal or utility projects, allowing the county and its partner agencies to move forward with demolition, stormwater and wastewater planning, or conveyances to homeowners and community organizations.

At the start of the meeting, land bank staff reported the agency has conveyed 188 properties to date. In the City of Scranton alone, staff said 275 conveyances have been completed, with breakouts cited for neighborhoods including West Scranton (80), South Scranton (67), North Scranton (72), Green Ridge (203 in ZIP 18509), and East Scranton (19 in ZIP 18510). Staff also listed recent conveyances to local partners: three properties to the City of Scranton, three to United Neighborhood Community Development Corporation, five to Scranton Lackawanna Resource Development Corporation and one to the Repunnel McDonald House; outside the city, 59 properties were conveyed in Covington Township and smaller numbers in Carbondale, Fell Township, Scott Township and others.

Staff presented individual purchase applications the advisory committee had recommended for approval. Applicants and proposed uses cited in the meeting included Elise Wiggins (Lehi Street, Scranton) offering $500 and acknowledging responsibility for utilities and frontage paving per city specifications; Brandon Stein and Miriam Parriga Campos (Eagle Lake development, Covington Township) offering $500 to use a parcel for recreation and to place a mobile home; Paula Marie Grieco (Drinker Pike, Covington Township) offering $500 to clean up and later build a cabin; Maximus Grieco (Jefferson Township) offering $500 to clean up and build a home; Michael Doyle (rear of Bear Lake Road, Thornhurst Township) offering $500 for hunting use; and Francis Norella Jr. (Kern Street, Carbondale) offering $600 to clear and build a garage adjacent to his property. Staff also said the city requested the land bank take in a North Cameron Avenue parcel because a stormwater improvement pipe will cross it.

Board members voted to enter option agreements with the Tax Claim Bureau to use the land bank’s preemptive-bid authority for several Scranton parcels that staff recommended for demolition. The three Scranton parcels identified for option agreements were on Battle Street, 1109 Poplar Street, and 1433 Fellow Street. “They are on our demolition list,” Ralph said during the discussion.

The board also discussed a letter from Michael Matichak, executive director of the Lackawanna River Basin Authority, requesting that the land bank use its preemptive-bid authority to acquire a parcel adjacent to the authority’s treatment plant. Matichak wrote that acquiring the parcel “will provide additional land area and flexibility for future expansion and upgrade” and will help the authority “respond to future treatment demands and fulfill its mission to serve its communities.” The land bank voted to enter an option agreement and later a purchase agreement with the authority; staff said the land bank pays the minimum bid at sale and is reimbursed later.

On formal votes, the board approved a slate of resolutions, recorded by staff as: Resolution 25-007 (acquisition of property from the tax claim office repository of unsold property), Resolution 25-008 (conveyance of land bank-owned property under the property purchase program), Resolution 25-009 (option agreement with the Tax Claim Bureau for preemptive judicial sale bids for Scranton properties), Resolution 25-010 (option agreement with the Tax Claim Bureau for the Lackawanna River Basin Authority property), Resolution 25-011 (memorandum of understanding with the City of Scranton regarding demolition of certain acquired properties), and Resolution 25-012 (purchase agreement with the Lackawanna River Basin Authority for a property acquired at the 2025 judicial tax sale). Each resolution was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote; meeting minutes record “the ayes have it” for each vote.

Directors also approved a separate, formal motion allowing a Thornhurst Township buyer, Gregory Sosa, to combine two lots into a single deed for conveyance subject to deed language that requires one parcel (PIN 24103090010 1) to remain a separate parcel for taxing purposes and not be separately conveyed without prior written approval of the Lackawanna County Land Bank Board of Directors for five years from the initial sale. The motion referenced the recorded instrument number 2022401608 and the deed date 01/24/2024.

During the meeting the advisory committee reported no new items from its recent session and the blight task force had no update because a member was out of town. Staff said two additional properties in Scranton and one in Carbondale would be acted on at this meeting as part of the disposition list. No members of the public addressed the land bank at the agenda-item public-comment opportunities.

The land bank’s next scheduled meeting is May 14, 2025, at 11 a.m. in the Commissioners’ Boardroom.