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Commissioners clarify status of blight/demolition funds; reentry survey under review
Summary
Commissioners said funds collected via recorded-deed fees are on hand for a municipal demolition/grant program that will require applications and municipal ownership; a proposal for reentry services remains under review with no new vote scheduled.
Commissioners and county staff discussed the status of a blight- and demolition-related fund that has been collecting a per-deed fee and clarified how municipalities can access the money.
A county official said the fee that informed the fund was approximately $15 per home collected through the recorded-deeds office but that the exact total amount collected was not specified in the meeting record. The county will offer a 50% grant-match to municipalities for demolition work, modeled on an existing demolition fund program, staff said. The official recommended municipalities obtain ownership of properties before applying because ownership simplifies the application and the removal process; Jim Thorpe was cited as a past example of faster remediation after municipal acquisition.
Separately, a commissioner asked about a reentry-survey proposal and whether the board would reconsider prior action. County staff said discussions continue and that the commissioners previously declined the proposal while noting concerns over how services would be provided and the long- and short-term financial impacts. Staff said the proposal had been discussed in relation to opioid-settlement funds and that guidance tied to that funding stream would be reviewed; no additional vote or timeline was announced.
Those exchanges occurred near the end of the meeting during commissioner reports and questions; commissioners did not take new formal action on either the demolition/grant program or the reentry-survey proposal at this session.
The county asked municipalities to check planning and property-ownership records to be ready to apply once the program’s administrative materials and application process are finalized.
