When Export council began discussions to adopt a new license fee and inspection schedule for borough rentals, there was a feeling among members that the issues they faced — a lack of information about tenants and landlords skirting the occupancy permit — were mostly with out-of-town property owners.
A month after the licensing fee went into effect, that appears to have largely been the case.
Out of 33 rental property owners who have not complied with the licensing requirements, 26 live outside the borough, or nearly 80%, according to borough tax collector Cynthia Delissio.
She said owners of 178 rental units have complied with the new ordinance. Twenty-five properties are in the process, six properties have been deemed uninhabitable. Sixty-nine residents have been added to the borough’s earned income tax rolls.
As the deadline to comply has passed, borough solicitor Wes Long asked Delissio to file complaints with the district magistrate against the first five non-compliant property owners on her list.
Paving work
The borough will hold off on paving work on sections of Puckety Road and Henry Avenue after receiving bids upwards of $60,000.
“We don’t have that kind of liquid fuels money right now,” Council President Barry Delissio said.
Delissio recommended waiting to see if construction prices go down before soliciting a new round of bids.
Other projects
• Delissio said a pre-construction meeting is taking place this week for the 700-foot extension of the Westmoreland Heritage Trail at its eastern terminus in Export.
Export officials are working to create a unified downtown area, centered around the confluence of the trail, the war memorial and the replica of the borough’s former train station.
• Federally funded Community Development Block Grant paving work on Monroe Avenue is complete, and contractors will make a site visit this month for the borough’s newest CDBG project, the retaining wall along Fillmore Avenue.
