A project of Open Pottsville

Pottsville Public WireBetaPardon our dust while we build this out — expect some changes along the way.

Official City of Pottsville, Pennsylvania happenings, made followable — by and for Pottsville residents

Unofficial mirror of pottsvillepa.gov — not affiliated with the City of Pottsville, Pennsylvania.


Agenda · Posted September 3, 2026

Blighted Property Review Committee meeting agenda — September 8, 2026

Meeting scheduled Tuesday, September 8 · 4:00 pm — Pottsville City Hall, 401 N. Centre St., Pottsville, PA

  1. Call to Order
  2. Roll Call / Establishment of Quorum
    • Mayor Tom Smith · Herman Fenstermacher (At Large) · Bud Quandel (Redevelopment Authority) · Thomas Wood (Planning Commission) · Brian Kotzmoyer (At Large) · Rob Straebel (City Administrator)
  3. Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting
  4. Public Comment — limited to agenda items
    • Members of the public may address the Committee on items appearing on this agenda, subject to any time limit set by the Chair.
  5. Status Review — Preliminary Strategic Blight Plan — Presentation by FSL Public Finance of the City's Preliminary Strategic Blight Plan (dated September 2, 2026), covering:
    • The citywide candidate property inventory spanning multiple corridors of the City
    • The ten properties currently targeted under the Redevelopment Authority's grant utilization plan
    • The statutory certification framework under 35 P.S. § 1712.1 and Pottsville's local Blight Task Force / Nuisance Ordinance practice
    • The Plan's Two-Week Action Matrix (Section 7) and its goal of a Special Meeting to certify priority properties and authorize service of notice on responsible owners and landlords
  6. Review of Most Recent Blighted Property List — Review of the Blight Task Force's current running list against the candidate inventory in the Plan, including:
    • Any properties added to or removed from the list since the Committee's last review
    • Code Enforcement update on second-floor occupancy verification at two priority mixed-use properties (ground floor confirmed vacant at both; upper-floor tenancy status pending confirmation)
    • Confirmation of independently verified vacancy at a priority commercial property slated for the eminent domain track
  7. Blight Certification — Action Items to Move the Plan Forward — Discussion and possible action on the following, consistent with the certification sequence and Action Matrix in the Plan:
    • Confirm current BPRC membership and enabling ordinance are in order to support certification actions
    • Authorize the Committee's solicitor to prepare blight determination packets for the priority properties identified in the Plan
    • Authorize the Committee's solicitor, in coordination with the Redevelopment Authority's solicitor, to prepare § 1712.1(e)(2) notices and orders for service on the responsible owners/landlords
    • Confirm Planning Commission coordination for the required reuse-consistency review
    • Vote: schedule a Special Meeting of the Committee within two weeks (target: on or about September 22, 2026) to formally certify priority properties and authorize service of notice, per the Plan's Section 7 timeline
  8. Review of County Repository List — Review of parcels that have passed to Schuylkill County ownership through the tax sale process and are held in the County's Repository of Unsold Properties, including the candidate parcels identified in the Plan. Discussion of a direct repository-sale approach with the Schuylkill County Tax Claim Bureau for these parcels, which does not require BPRC blight certification since title has already passed out of private ownership.
  9. Land Bank — Utilization Strategy — The Redevelopment Authority's existing land bank is already established as a tool available to the City. Discussion will focus on how the Committee and Authority will actually use it going forward, including:
    • Which certified and repository parcels are best suited for transfer into the land bank versus direct RDA-held acquisition
    • How land bank holding can streamline clearing title on tax-delinquent and repository parcels ahead of disposition
    • Coordination between the BPRC certification track, the repository-sale path discussed above, and land bank intake
    • Disposition strategy and timeline for parcels placed in the land bank
    • Any action needed from the Committee or Council to formally route priority properties to the land bank
  10. Upcoming October 2026 Judicial Sale — Discussion of the County's upcoming Judicial Sale (October 2026), including:
    • Identification of any properties of interest to the City or Redevelopment Authority appearing on the sale list
    • Coordination needed prior to the sale, including any pre-sale bidding authorization the Authority may need from Council
    • Relationship between properties not sold at Judicial Sale and their subsequent placement in the County Repository (see Item VIII)
  11. Other Business
  12. Next Meeting Date — Confirmation of the date, time, and location of the Special Meeting authorized under Item VII, and the Committee's next regularly scheduled meeting.
  13. Adjournment

This page was organized with the help of AI, which can make mistakes. For the most accurate information, always consult the original on pottsvillepa.gov.

Original on pottsvillepa.gov →