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Officials discuss unsafe-building process, jail HVAC leaks and potential costs
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Summary
County staff reviewed unsafe-building procedures and tax-sale outcomes, then discussed jail HVAC leaks and bids for repair; officials noted potential tax-sale transfers to towns and cited a possible $42/day per-inmate housing cost if parts of the jail become unusable.
County officials reviewed their process for handling unsafe buildings and discussed maintenance needs at the county jail.
Speaker 2 explained the UBO (unsafe building) process: if a property is unlivable the county can order demolition, then the county bills the owner; if unpaid the cost can be placed on the property tax bill and the property can go to tax sale. Speaker 2 referenced examples where lots sold at tax sale in Williamsport and West Lebanon but cautioned counties and towns often recover little in practice (one figure referenced in discussion was about $21,000 for a downtown property in the cited example).
Separately, Speaker 3 reported recurring leaks and HVAC problems at the jail and said staff are soliciting multiple bids to diagnose and address issues comprehensively rather than repeatedly patching leaks. Officials discussed possibly phasing a larger project over several years if costs are high. Speaker 3 noted a contingency for inmate housing costs if cells are out of service, citing about $42 per inmate per day to house inmates elsewhere.
No formal appropriation specifically for jail repairs was recorded in the transcript excerpt; officials said they will get numbers and report back.
