On Tuesday, a contractor from Hazleton stood in front of the row home in Pottsville that had been dubbed the worst blighted property in the city.
Joseph R. Umbriac, president of Penn Earthworks, Hazleton, was hired by the city to tear down several buildings, including this one, 674 N. Second St.
"Should be down by early 2014, at most, within three months," Umbriac said.
It's a row home that sustains constant damage from exposure because its front door is broken off its hinges. The owner is Said Attalla, Mississauga, Canada.
"I think with Thanksgiving and Christmas and the holidays, we should stay away from this one to avoid blocking traffic just until after the holidays," Donald J. Chescavage, city code enforcement officer, said as he stood on the narrow neighborhood street.
The city's latest demolition project will be a milestone for The Pottsville Blight and Nuisance Task Force, established by Mayor John D.W. Reiley in April 2012.
This is the first time the city developed a program to demolish properties singled out by the task force, a team of city officials and community representatives.
In October, the city council approved the demolition of seven run-down properties.
The council awarded five demolition contracts to Penn Earthworks. Following are the names of the owners of those properties and the cost of the demolition projects: 674 N. Second St., Attalla, $19,850; 439 Fairview St., Joseph Yutz Jr., $16,300; 433 Fairview St., Andrew Chillemi, $18,800; 303 N. Ninth St., Garage Flex LLC, $19,850; and 657 N. Second St., Investment Property Cheap, $17,770.
Umbriac said he might start work in early December on the properties on Fairview Street.
The council awarded two demolition contracts to Northeast Industrial for the following addresses with the owners' names and the cost of the demolition projects: 407 W. Laurel Blvd., Apt. & Acquisitions, $20,750; and 235 Pierce St., Tina Brown, $15,350.
The Brown property was the site of the accidental fire that left four children and two adults dead in Pottsville on Mother's Day.
The council plans to use $80,503 from its 2011 federal Community Development Block Grant and $75,000 from its 2012 CDBG account for the demolition project. The plan is to put a lien for the cost of the demolition on the properties, Palamar said.
In June, the task force dubbed 674 N. Second St. the worst of the more than 350 properties on its blight list.
"It's the worst of the worst," Palamar said Tuesday.
John Molin owns and resides at 672 N. Second St., next door to 674, which he said he is glad will be razed. However, he has worries.
"I'm not happy about it coming down this time of year. It's right in the middle of winter, and I have a one-month-old grandson staying with us. I'm not sure what kind of dust it's going to cause," Molin said Tuesday.
He said he's also worried about damage the property at 674 has caused to his property at 672. He wondered if the demolition will cause further damage.
"I'm worrying about structural damage to my house. I want the house next door to come down, but I'm wondering about what's going to happen to my house and if something happens, who's responsible?" Molin said.
Molin said he plans to contact Palamar and Umbriac to discuss the matter.
On Tuesday, Umbriac and Chescavage discussed how Penn Earthworks will approach the demolition of the row home at 674.
To take down a row home, a property which has properties attached to its sides, requires strategy and care, Umbriac said.
"We're just going to soft-cut it apart and take it down slowly. You'll soft-cut from the roof and work your way down to the walls, and take it all the way down," he said.
Instead of using a wreaking ball, he said his team will use tools including electric "demo saws" with circular blades.
"We use gas-powered saw with a 14-inch blade," Umbriac said.
"Firefighters use very similar tools to cut through roofs. They have heavy-duty blades," Chescavage said.
The walls of the homes along 674 N. Second St. won't have to be reinforced, Umbriac said.
"They're already reinforced. Those are structurally sound," Umbriac said.
The contractors will avoid the foundation walls when they're slowly removing address 674 from top to bottom, Chescavage said.
"They'll only be tearing down the interior partition walls. When you're cutting out your roof joists, for example, you'll cut them a couple feet away from the adjoining properties. You can't ever say there won't be a problem. You can always encounter something unexpected," Chescavage said.