Residents of Fisher Avenue in Coaldale are concerned that a deteriorating house could start shedding debris into the narrow street, and upset that the borough has barricaded the section of road in front of the shabby structure.

Mike Doerr, whose garage faces Fisher Avenue, spoke to council on Tuesday, asking officials to at least take down the sagging front porch and shore up the upper windows."If not, just take the barricades down," he said. "People have a right to come in and out of their homes. You're blocking peoples' driveways and people are getting a little bit disgusted.""If you look at the center window, it's actually starting to separate from the house itself, and ... has started to push out," he added.Doerr asked council if the borough could tear down the house and bill the owner for the costs.Solicitor Michael Greek said "we have all the mechanisms in place to do it" but the borough lacks the money. To demolish the house, he said, council must "issue a notice that it is that much in disrepair (that it should be torn down). But we need an engineering report to say that it is. Then, the borough would have to file a civil action to tear the property down, or to authorize the borough to tear it down," he said. The borough could demolish the house without the owner's permission if it is deemed to threaten public safety, he said."If it's in danger of collapsing, we need to do something fast," he said."But we have to have money in place to do that, and that's been the major stumbling block" that stands in the way of allowing the borough to demolish dilapidated properties, he said.Council later agreed to again apply for a matching demolition grant through the state Community Development Block Grant program, and debated which of several dilapidated buildings it would demolish if the money comes through.The borough does have $4,000 in its own demolition account, said secretary Louise Lill.Councilman Joseph Hnat said he has gotten quotes on tearing down the porch, and estimated that it would cost about $900.On Wednesday, Fisher Avenue resident Lizzy Brown said the barricades are a troublesome addition to the one-way street. She said she had recently gone on vacation, and the woman she hired to care for her dogs called her, panicked, because when she tried to get to Brown's house after work one night, she had to park some distance away and feared walking in the dark.The barricades are inconvenient for residents, she said."I have to park down at the bottom of the hill and walk up to my house," she said.Doerr on Wednesday said that neighbors moved the barricades so a Schuylkill Transportation System bus could pick up an elderly woman who lives next door to the long-neglected house.According to Schuylkill County property records, the home was sold on May 20, 2009 by Theresa Skeerca, Helen Rudner and Mary Rose Rudner to Street Stage Inc. for $1,119. The address listed for Street Stage Inc. is in care of the Catafago law firm in New York City. The records list the property's fair market value of the home at $1,200.The firm in the summer of 2009 also bought properties in other Schuylkill County communities, including 525 Railroad St. Tamaqua, for $900; and at 135 Gay St., also in Tamaqua, for $930.