After several years, past allegations of bid rigging, and a lawsuit filed against a dead man, Lansford Borough plans to take down a blighted house along Route 209.

A recent inspection by the borough’s engineer/building code officer determined that 614 E. Patterson St. represents a danger to the public, and must be taken down immediately.

“He considers it an emergency situation and it should be torn down. It’s a fire hazard, and dangerous to the public welfare,” said Robert Yurchak, borough solicitor.

The borough has been trying to take down the building for much longer. In 2020, the borough sued the owner of the property so they could demolish it and force him to pay for it. But the suit ended after the borough learned he had died the previous year.

At some point in the past the borough condemned the property, and had awarded a contract to demolish it. But the work was never completed because the council was accused of improperly awarding bids to a higher bidder.

Council President Bruce Markovich said that the FBI looked into the alleged bid rigging after a resident filed a complaint, but no one was ever charged.

“The borough never did anything with the property after that,” Markovich said.

A member of council at the time said the allegations were unfounded. Lenny Kovach, who attended Wednesday’s meeting, said the bid they chose was higher because it included putting up siding on the other half of the double-block home.

Kovach also said he was disappointed that the current members of council paid the borough engineer to look at the project when the planning had already been done during his time on council.

Markovich said there’s no records from the original project, and it’s possible that the FBI took them during its investigation.

Yurchak said that by declaring it an emergency, the borough now does not have to get bids for the project.

But council said that they will get quotes from three contractors before awarding the contract to take down the house.

“We’re going to contact three contractors, get prices to tear it down, and get it down,” Markovich said.