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| A home in Marianna slated for demolishment. (Observer-Reporter photo by Holly Tonini) |
That's the case in Washington County, in rural southwestern Pennsylvania: it and neighboring counties were once prosperous from coal, depending on jobs form the Marianna Mine. But these days many towns in those counties are "dealing with dozens of abandoned and neglected properties, absentee landlords, crime and safety concerns, a diminished tax base and a heap of filth," Rick Shrum reports for the Observer-Reporter in Washington, Pennsylvania.
But Marianna, a borough of 475 just south of Pittsburgh, is working hard to fight back blight. Washington County recently awarded the borough $100,000 from its Local Share Account to address blight. The borough is clearing 21 blighted properties and has already completed 13 of those, Shrum reports.
It's an important task for several reasons, Marianna leaders said. For one, it clears the way for those properties to get back on the tax rolls, and also beautifies the community. It also makes the area safer for residents. Councilman Wes Silva told Shrum about an incident a few years ago in which falling bricks from a dilapidated building almost hit a young child.
Silva said about six homeowners living adjacent to the blighted buildings have expressed interest in buying the cleared lots to expand their property.
Another Washington County community, East Bethlehem Township, received $24,200 from the LSA to address blight. Since that town is on the Monongahela River, it has an additional objective of making the riverfront attractive to potential recreationists such as canoers and kayakers, Shrum reports.
from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2OuVU1Q Blight a problem for rural towns too; how some fight back - Entrepreneur Generations
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