CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield County Commissioners on Tuesday voted to approve the reactivation of the county’s redevelopment authority.
The request was made by Community Development Specialist Lisa Kovalick, who said the county has had “a need for some time.”
In 2006, she said the county’s comprehensive plan identified that having a county-wide redevelopment authority would help assure an adequate supply of housing.
In 2011, she said the county conducted a housing needs and market assessment. Committee members were representatives from municipalities and development entities from across Clearfield County.
Input was also received from 23 of the county’s 50 municipalities, according to Kovalick, and the study directly identified 323 blighted properties.
In 2014, she said the commissioners appointed a Blighted Property Task Force to help develop the best and most appropriate strategies to address the county’s growing blight problem.
She said the task force had moderate recommendations, calling for additional work like compiling data on properties identified as “at-risk” of becoming blighted in the near future.
“This is a great method to help prevent blight,” Kovalick said, “but it’s apparent that there isn’t any entity to follow up and to complete such tasks.”
By reactivating the county-wide redevelopment authority, Kovalick said it will be the county’s arm in promoting the remediation and revitalization of blighted properties through a holistic approach.
She said the authority will work closely with local municipalities to redevelop their communities and to promote public health, safety and prosperity.
The commissioners will appoint individuals to serve on the authority’s board at a future time. More information will be available as the county completes the reactivation process.