McHale Releases Plan for Dealing with Blight, Decay, Trash “Making Reading cleaner and safer will make it more attractive for residents,

employers and tourists, and that helps all of us.”

Reading, PA – Jim McHale, candidate for Mayor of Reading, today outlined his proposal to address housing blight, property maintenance, and trash across the city. “There is a direct correlation between blight and economic development. That’s why we need to address housing, trash, and property maintenance issues quickly and efficiently,” McHale stated. “The political machine and its candidates have talked about this problem for too long without taking action. I’ll make finally fixing them a top priority.” McHale’s plan deals with three major areas: rehabilitation of existing homes, addressing vacant lots, and cleaning trash from throughout the city. Rehabilitating Homes & Vacant Properties “The best example of the political machine’s failure to serve our citizens is the fact that there are homes in Reading that are actual health hazards to the people who live in and around them,” McHale said. “Fixing those homes immediately – and then ensuring others never fall to level of health hazard – must be our goal.” Mold, mildew, and lead paint are a few of the leading causes in homes becoming a health hazard. “Unfortunately, simple paint often does not meet federal remediation standards for addressing lead paint issues. The City must ensure that residents looking to paint their homes are meeting these standards if they undertake remediation to avoid unexpected costs,” said McHale. McHale has provided basic solutions for addressing property maintenance issues:

1. Triage: The city must determine which properties are in dire need of maintenance, and rank them in order of importance for repair.

2. Contracting: once the most critical properties are determined, the city will work with residents to find approved contractors and discuss financing options for payment. Many residents may be eligible for a grant, loan, or a combination of both. Rental properties would not be eligible for grants or loans, and would face penalties for non-compliance with maintenance repair needs. 3. Continued Vigilance: fixing a home that needs it is vital; ensuring it remains in good repair is the key to reducing the future need for rehabilitation.

Vacant Lots “Reading has a significant number of vacant lots and copious amounts of dumping” McHale said. “Vacant lots are contagious, if left alone, they can and will multiply.” Cleaning up these lots is only the first step to fixing blight; in order for Reading to truly turn around, we must fill these vacant lots with vibrant structures, community parks or gardens, or other positive items. McHale’s initiatives focus on:

1. Developing small city-owned lots Developers want to transform these lots, and the city needs to let them. Anyone who purchases a city-owned lot will be required to develop it into affordable housing or another allowed use. Any property developed under this system will be monitored by the city for quality assurance purposes. As a secondary benefit, moving city-owned lots to private ownership will also help provide more tax revenue to the city without an increased burden on current taxpayers.

2. Improving unattended lots

Many of the vacant lots in the city are privately owned. For these, owners will face stiff fines if they do not come into compliance with city regulations for maintenance of the property. Lot owners who want to avoid fines and better maintain their properties can work with the city and community groups to offer their property for community-maintained parks or gardens.

3. Transforming large troubled buildings Many of Reading’s large buildings are not only in decline, they are not habitable. These buildings need to be repaired and restored, or destroyed. Once identified we must work with developers to fix and repair the troubled buildings. Our government needs to stop fighting with developers and instead work cooperatively with them to make our city better.

“This is no easy task, but when we implement universally accepted initiatives, we can fix the blighted properties we all see every day,” McHale explained. “The bottom line is that we must take a different, proactive approach that has been followed in the past.” Keeping Reading Clean “Too many city streets are lined with garbage and look like they haven’t been cleaned in years,” McHale said. “While the first line of defense to keep Reading clean starts daily with residents, city government must be an active and engaged ally in this fight.”

McHale’s plan focuses on three key areas: 1. Initial Clean-Up

McHale stated that one of his first acts as Mayor will be to send teams of city workers out to clean up the existing trash.

2. Regular Street Cleaning McHale will reprioritize the city maintenance budget to ensure streets are cleaned on a monthly basis; currently, streets are cleaned approximately every six months, if at all. 3. Community Partnership McHale said he will begin a public campaign designed to get city residents involved on a daily basis with helping keep Reading clean. In addition, he will set-up a citizens’ hotline at City Hall for residents to call in regarding trouble spots. “Let’s be partners in making Reading clean. Right now the amount of trash in the City is incomprehensible. We need teams with bags, brooms, and trucks to clean up Reading, and I’ll send them out into our neighborhoods,” McHale said. “Once the city is clean, it’s up to all of us to keep it that way.” “Making Reading cleaner and safer will make it more attractive for residents, employers, and tourists. Clean cities are successful cities, and we can make Reading successful again,” McHale concluded.

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