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Duquesne Working to Address Vacant Properties
City plans tough questions for current trash hauling company
By Tom Leturgey
The Tube City Almanac
October 26, 2022
Posted in: Duquesne News
Duquesne officials will seek a state grant to purchase license-plate readers for the police department.
At the October meeting, Mayor Scott Adams said the city is seeking $100,000.
The mayor said he also hopes that the state can obtain funding with the help of state Sen. Jim Brewster to purchase a new pickup truck with snow-plowing and road-salting capabilities for the public works department
In other business, the city is moving forward with programs to address the number of vacant and abandoned properties in Duquesne, Adams said.
The city’s goals include both redeveloping vacant properties and removing abandoned structures, Adams said.
Officials said they met recently with Mon Valley Initiative concerning the possibility of building new homes on some of the vacant properties.
Councilwoman Elaine Washington, who chairs the public works committee, said there are 55 vacant lots in the city.
Washington said public works employees have been asked to inspect the sidewalks outside of abandoned homes to see if repairs are needed.
Councilman Aaron Adams said the city is still working on an ordinance requiring residents to put garbage into cans, rather than just bags, for collection.
The city is also going to meet with County Hauling about the hauler’s contract, he said.
Duquesne officials said the city has received frequent complaints about the contractor’s service and that will be a big part of future contract negotiations.
City Council approved a vote to accept three acres near Leo’s Service Station. The land is to be used to store equipment.
In his accounts and finance committee report, Councilman Derek Artim noted that meetings are taking place with the various department heads on a budget for 2023. Treasurer Maureen Strahl’s report noted that the city has collected “about 80 percent” of the municipality’s real estate taxes for the year.
Vince Simms has been added to Duquesne’s Citizen’s Police Review Board, and leader Debra Chaffin says the group is looking for more members. The Duquesne citizens review board is the only group of its kind in Allegheny County outside of the city of Pittsburgh.
Adams told Chaffin the city will try to provide some funding for the group in the new year.
Tom Leturgey is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh and the editor of KSWA Digest, the online news and features home of the Keystone State Wrestling Alliance.
Originally published October 26, 2022.
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