Burned house is a dangerous eyesore

By DAVID HULSE

LACKAWAXEN, PA — Six years after a fire destroyed it, neighbors say the remains of a Greeley home have become a hazardous site that is driving down neighboring property values and drawing illegal dumping.

Speaking at the Lackawaxen supervisors meeting on May 21, Greeley resident Mark Van Acker recalled that he had come before them a year earlier looking for some help in getting the remains of the Vernon Buell residence demolished. He said Buell had since agreed to pay for dumpsters to remove the remains, if the building was taken down, but nothing has happened.

The release Buell gave was for the fire company to burn it, but the state would not approve it for fire training, supervisors chair Brian Stuart responded.

The property is also tied up in several mortgages and liens, Stuart said.

“Somebody has got to get a clear title and it’s a gigantic mess,” Stuart said. “The only option is to file a court petition and it’s going to cost a hell of a lot of money that we don’t have budgeted… [it’s] $14,000 to tear it down and haul it away,” he said.

Neighbor Ellen Burns said people are dumping garbage on the property, including old refrigerators.

“I’ve got two small grandchildren. I’ll sue if they get hurt,” she warned.

Stuart said he had not heard of illegal dumping on the site, but remained adamant that the township could not arbitrarily intervene.

“We’re not going into the demolition business. If we do it on that property, we’ll set a precedent. That’s one of about 18 houses in Greeley that you could tear down,” he said.

“[They are] not like this,” Burns replied.

“Believe me, they are,” Stuart responded. “We’ve even looked for grants to do this. There are none out there,” he said.

The township did pass an ordinance requiring insurance payments for the demolition of destroyed structures following fires, but the Buell house predates the ordinance and there was no insurance.

“What would you do if it were next to your property? What then?” John Burns asked. “We can’t give our homes away,” he added.

“We can raise township taxes and do them all,” Stuart replied. “The budget is near $1 million now, with 52 miles of roads to improve.”

Van Acker wanted to know how long the problem would take to become a budget priority.

“Something has to come last. This has been six years now,” he said.

No resolution was found.

In other business the supervisors scheduled a June 11 public hearing for a zoning conditional use hearing on Woodloch Pines plans for a new 21-lot subdivision on Route 590, called the “Reserve at Woodloch.”