Commissioners sell 8 properties, exempt 8 others / By Martha Knight

SMETHPORT—The McKean Commissioners did land office business at their meeting Tuesday morning, approving sale of eight properties from the county repository.

Of those, four were in Bradford, Three went to Harry Solarek: a .04-acre lot at Park and Jefferson Streets for $255, a .09-acre lot at 12 Park Street for $555 and a .08-acre lot at 16 Thompson Avenue for $255. Burt Hitchcock bought .05 acre and a house at 18 Charlotte Avenue for $500.

Amy Albney paid $2,000 for a doublewide trailer at 350 Barnum Road, Eldred.

Otto Township gave $250 for .2 acres and a house at 13 Maple Street, Rixford. Perry Tanner, Jr. paid $50 for a mobile home at 690 Pierce Brook, Smethport, and Jason Eastman gave $250 for 271 Main Street, Hazelhurst.

All the sales had been approved by the school districts and municipalities involved.

Eight properties were granted real estate tax exemptions for 2014. Four properties owned by the McKean County Redevelopment Authority were removed from the tax rolls. They are ,17 acre of land and a building at 86 Fraley Street, Kane; .1 acre on King Street, Smethport; .32 acre and a building at 19 Center Street, Smethport, and .3 acre at 1104 West Main Street, Smethport.

Three properties were granted exemptions for the Downtown Bradford Revitalization Corporation. They are .03 acre at 42 Elm Street, .04 acre at 21 Congress Place, and .03 acre at 89 Congress Street, All three were described as blighted property acquired for redevelopment.

Christian Youth Corps was granted exemption of .15 acre of land and a building at 28 Main Street, Bradford, to be used as a community center by the non-profit organization.

The commissioners authorized preparation of a minimum municipal obligation worksheet for the McKean County Solid Waste Authority pension plan. Commissioner chairman Joe DeMott explained that the plan is “very well funded” and will not require any funds from the county this year.

The fund has $887,687 in assets and $532,275 in actuarial value, it was reported. This is sufficient to cover claims from the six retirees and three vested former employees of the landfill authority.

Commissioners approved renewal of the county’s natural gas supply contract with Vineyard Oil and Gas Company, as recommended by the maintenance department.

Invoices the commissioners agreed to pay were from the YWCA, $9,048 for the current quarter for the Homeless Assistance Program, from the Public Welfare Fund grant; Kane Borough, $7,562 for a 2014 liquid fuel funded project; and the Area Transportation Authority, $148,918 as a first quarter advance payment for the Medical Assistance Transportation Program, also from the Public Welfare Fund.

Lafayette Township’s request for $5,747 in county aid was approved. It is earmarked for a future project.

Seven purchase-of-service or service provider contracts were approved, at the request of the Human Services Department.