A Nesquehoning couple who approached borough council last year has asked if there was any update regarding demolishing a burned-out triplex property behind their house, as well as if there has been any movement on creating a blight remediation plan for the town.

Abbie and Joe Guardiani asked council last week if there has been any success in getting the homeowners fined or the building secured so the borough could begin the process to demolish it. The building in question, located on High Street, burned nearly six years ago and has stood unsecured since then.

Previously, the Guardianis, who live right below the home, have noted that there has been a partial roof collapse, windows and doors are wide open so anyone can go in the property, and the chimney is free-standing.

Abbie Guardiani asked if there has been any correspondence with the owners of the properties, have any fines been imposed on them and if there has been any progress on writing a blight remediation plan.

“I’m just coming back about one house in this town, which is our issue,” she said. “But we all know that there are plenty of other blight issues in town, and the way to address it is through a blight remediation plan.”

The Guardianis asked if the borough has contacted Lansford and Summit Hill to see if those boroughs would also be willing to partner together on the plan and strengthen their chance of securing blight grant money to demolish structures.

Councilwoman Mary Fox said she thinks the borough should begin the process of setting up a committee with other communities to start fighting blight.

Borough Secretary-Treasurer RoniSue Ahner said that the borough has cited one of the property owners and a hearing that was scheduled was continued until next week.

Part of the citation is the restitution for the borough demolishing the building, and the owner has secured a lawyer in the matter.

With regards to the second of the three properties that are burned on that site, Ahner said that she was in touch with the new owner and gave him the Carbon County Tax Claim bureau information because the properties are up for repository sale.

She said that the reason for this was so he could put a bid in on them and purchase them if he wanted.

All three properties have been cited at this time, but the borough is having a hard time finding the third owner to serve the citation.

“The challenge to this is finding the correct owners and having them address it,” Councilman Bruce Nalesnik said. “We’ll find the money to deal with this problem.”

Abbie Guardiani thanked the borough for starting the process, but added that this is a serious issue, which council agreed.

“The key to this whole thing is not just our issue of one house. The key to this whole thing is a blight remediation plan,” she said.

Officials said that the new code enforcement officer has been doing a great job going through town and looking to see what needs to be cited and cleaned up.

The Guardianis first approached Nesquehoning Borough Council about the burned-out property on High Street in September 2021.

In October, council told the couple that citations were being filed against the property owners over the properties.