Demolition of blighted properties and code enforcement continue to be a topic in Tamaqua.

Borough Manager Kevin Steigerwalt announced Tuesday night that although a bid has been received for the demolition of 216 Penn St., it exceeded the borough's expectations and the county community block grant consultant also thought it was high.Council decided to reject the current bid and rebid the project later this year.Mayor Christian Morrison reminded council members that the borough does own the property and if the demolition is going to be delayed, issues like keeping the weeds down will need to be addressed.Council also agreed to pursue the acquisition of the property at 252 Cottage Ave. The borough has been notified the property is available for county repository sale, and the borough placed a bid on the property. "We have to have ownership or court approval to participate in the county's demolition program," explained Steigerwalt, adding that acquiring the building is the first step in the process. Steigerwalt said the county's program does seem to be moving quickly and he's hoping once the formalities are completed, demolition will be able to proceed quickly.Kenneth Mellor, a resident, returned to council after appearing last month with photos of code violations, including the dumping of trash, on a property adjacent to his. An emotional Mellor again pleaded with borough officials to do something about cleaning up the properties. "I couldn't even have a cookout out there this summer, it's so disgusting," he said.Mellor also cited a newspaper article from 2013 where he brought the same items to council's attention. "Four freaking years and it's still the same," he said.Steigerwalt said code enforcement has been following the process and the property owner has been cited and fined. Mellor responded that an attempt was made to put some of the refuse in a garbage bag and then the garbage bags were just left there.Steigerwalt and other members of council assured Mellor the process is being followed and although it may take some time, the matters will be addressed and the property will be cleaned up.