The Monroe County commissioners approved a grant payment to East Stroudsburg to cover the cost of the demolition of the former International Boiler Works buildings at 460-500 Birch St.

Through the Redevelopment Authority of Monroe County, the Act 152 Demolition grant payment totals $781,966. Commissioner Sharon Laverdure asked Michelle Bisbing, president of the Pocono Mountains Economic Development Corp., the age of the facility.

Bisbing, who said her office worked with the Redevelopment Authority to secure the grant, said the facility has been around since the 1800s, but has been vacant since the early 1990s. “I think ’92 when it officially closed,” she said.

Bisbing explained that the site had been a brownfield with contaminated soil, but it has since been cleaned up. The county received grants to pay for the cleanup.

“We have two other grants for the redevelopment of the property, a $1.8 million RACP (Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program) grant and $180,000 Monroe LSA (Local Share Account) grant,” Bisbing said.

The RACP grant was acquired in 2017, and the approval by the commissioners April 15 will pay for the demolition and preparation of the site for a new use and a new buyer. It is owned by the Borough of East Stroudsburg, she said.

Jennifer Strauch, executive director of the Redevelopment Authority of Monroe County, said, “The Redevelopment Authority manages the Act 152 demolition dollars for the county and the application came in. I think it’s a great proposal, as you know it could potentially lead to additional tax dollars and revenue for counties, local municipalities and for school districts with the redevelopment.”

The commissioners also approved an agreement under the county’s Fiscal Department with Avila Technologies Inc. that will run from May 1 to April 30, 2027. The company will assist the county in grant research and discovery. The cost is $5,000.

Theresa Pesce, a Monroe County resident, asked who Avila Technologies is and what the service is that it will provide to the county.

Commissioner David Parker explained that the company is a grant writing platform to search for grants and it can write the information needed for a grant application as well.

“(It) makes sure that you hit everything that needs to be in the grant. It can review grants that you write, so it’s a very robust system,” Parker said. “So we think it can help us get more grants, so we’re going to try it out for a year and see if that can help our grants office get even more grants.”