Jay Gallagher, who lives in an immaculate, well-kept home at 8 Leisenring St. in Lansford, has been looking forward to sitting on his back porch these warm evenings.

But, Gallagher told borough council on Wednesday, the stench from open bags of trash stacked on the back porch of the attached vacant house next door at 6 Leisenring makes that impossible."Something's got to be done," he said. "It's getting warm and I'd like to sit on my porch."Council President Rose Mary Cannon, after much discussion and asking Code Enforcement Officer Katheryn Labosky for information, suggested Gallagher file a complaint with District Judge Casimir Kosciolek.Labosky condemned the house after the tenant moved out in November. She has also repeatedly cited the series of owners, which at this point is a blank.Despite her best efforts at tracking down who actually owns the mortgage on the property, it's an ongoing battle: the house is in foreclosure and she must navigate layers of bureaucracy.Borough solicitor Michael Greek has said the only avenue is to continue citing the owners.Labosky has done just that, as well as written to the mortgage-holder, when a name is known. She told council that another hearing has yet to be scheduled for the latest citation, issued Feb. 12 to the last known owner, Lisa Kite, of South Carolina.Council discussed whether borough workers should remove the trash.Councilman Tommy Vadyak urged caution, saying someone would have to climb a ladder to get to the second-story porch where the bags are sitting.Entrance through the house is impossible, as the latest mortgage holder has padlocked it.