Two properties have been a proverbial thorn in the side of the Clarion County Housing and Redevelopment Authority. However, the situation might be resolved soon but not without hurdles to clear.
The Housing and Redevelopment Authority petitioned for conservatorship for the former Dillon’s Gas Station at the intersection of Main Street and Second Avenue in Clarion and three structures in Farmington Township.
The authority is awaiting the court’s decision on the matter. If the authority is awarded conservatorship, funding for the demolition of the properties becomes the biggest concern.
“I met with the (Clarion County) commissioners about assistance for demolition and the commissioners offered a zero-interest loan for demolition, and they also offered for us to potentially talk to their grant-writing company,” Campbell said.
“I also went to the Farmington Township supervisors and asked if they were willing to contribute anything to the demolition and I received a phone call from (Farmington Secretary) Robin Kahle that the township wasn’t going to be contributing any money.”
Campbell said Kahle gave two reasons why Farmington will not contribute money: the residents were not happy that the township already was going to be paying for demolition of the homes and they were not happy that the county wasn’t willing to contribute any money.
Campbell informed the board that she applied for a state Department of Community and Economic Development industrial reuse program grant. She said the authority will have to apply for the grant twice; with the first application concerning the additional assessment on the property to see what costs will be for remediation, and the second grant will be for the actual remediation.
Additionally, Campbell said the DCED representative and the state Department of Environmental Resources have been in contact, and both agencies are in favor of the project.
Campbell said the authority will be able to pay for the assessment and the remediation with money received from the Pennsylvania Industrial Sites Reuse Program (ISRP). However, Campbell has concern that some of the funding might be held up by the state budget impasse. She said the money was there for the assessment but the money was not there for the remediation at this time.
Even though there are still a number of steps to complete on the conservatorship process on the properties, Campbell is confident in how the situation has progressed.
“This is the most movement we have on the Dillon property than anyone has had,” Campbell said. “We have been talking about this Dillon service station for a long time.”