Coaldale Borough Council has identified five blighted and abandoned properties that it hopes to demolish this year.

And it hopes to do it at no cost thanks to a grant from Schuylkill County.The board voted to allow Councilwoman Claire Remington to apply for a grant program to pay for the demolition of five properties. Two are located on Ruddle Street, three on Ridge and one on Water Street (Route 209)."I'm going with the worst properties right now," she said. "Three of these, they're the worst parts of Coaldale."Even though the money won't be available until 2017, Remington said she anticipates that several other towns in Schuylkill County will also be vying for it, and urged the board to act quickly.By going through Schuylkill County, the borough will not have to put up any matching funds to pay for the demolition.She said that the county will also do the clerical work to prepare for the demolition.She said that the grant will save the borough tens of thousands of dollars to demolish each of the blighted buildings.This year, the borough successfully demolished two abandoned properties on Fisher Avenue. They also successfully petitioned a Schuylkill County Court to order the demolition of another property on Fisher Avenue.Other businessBorough council discussed a case of mine subsidence that occurred on a property near Water Street.Councilman Thomas Keerans said that he heard a large sinkhole had opened up.Remington said that the sinkhole was limited to less than 2 feet in diameter, but the borough's work crew had put up caution tape around a large area to keep people out.Council also voted to advertise to seek new part-time police officers.President Angela Krapf said that the department recently lost two reliable part-time officers to full-time positions in other departments. She said that filling weekend and holiday shifts has been a challenge for the department. Krapf is married to Keith Krapf, Coaldale chief of police.