The Derby Board of Aldermen last week created a designated, stand-alone, can’t be touched, don’t‑even-look-in-this-direction fund that will be used to pay for the demolition of blighted properties.
The board also voted to ask the city’s Board of Apportionment and Taxation to put between $200,000 and $250,000 into the fund.
The money will come from the city’s fund balance, if the tax board gives a green light.
Derby City Treasurer Keith McLiverty said the creation of the demolition fund gives purpose to the city’s blight ordinance, which targets local eyesores.
In addition, the demolition fund addresses an underlying problem in Derby — an over abundance of high-density housing that chips away at property values while taxing the city’s limited resources, especially in terms of education spending.
“We have a density issue, folks,” McLiverty told the Aldermen July 26. “Look around. We have more bedrooms than we need and more bedrooms than we can afford.”
Derby is five square miles with almost 13,000 residents.
McLiverty called the city’s density issue a “simple game of math.”
He said if an apartment house in the city has four apartments and eight bedrooms, the property generates some $6,000 in property taxes. Yet the cost of one child to educate in Derby schools is $11,000, McLiverty said.
“We lose. The game is simple,” McLiverty said.
The treasurer also said density and the average household income are two reasons Derby can’t get its bond rating upgraded. Bond ratings help decide the interest rate on municipal borrowing and is an indicator of local economic health.
Already Exists?
The city’s blight ordinance has been on the books for years. It targets dilapidated properties that lessen the quality of life for neighbors or pose a health and safety threat to the public.
If a property is placed on the city’s blight list, the owner faces fines of $100 day until the problems are addressed.
Blight fines will go into the designated demolition fund.
The city already had a demolition fund, but the money was drained and not replenished. The city has managed to knock down several run-down properties over the years, such as this property on Fifth Street.
Now the idea is to permanently fund demolition efforts, starting with a shot in the arm from the city’s tax board.
“This will clearly identify what the use of those monies will be for and where the revenue source for that fund comes from,” McLiverty said.
Assuming the tax board decides to put money in the demolition fund, it’s not as if Derby officials will be bringing in a wrecking ball ASAP.
In order to demolish a property, the city must first take ownership of it — which usually happens by way of foreclosure.
The city has been hesitant to do that since it lacks cash.
Just last month city officials created a list showing 12 of the most blighted properties in Derby owe the city about $1.1 million in old fines.
A few other property owners have approached the Aldermen asking that the blight fines be reduced so that they can sell their properties.
McLiverty urged the Aldermen not to reduce blight fines, pointing out the property owners had ignored city officials for hundreds upon hundreds of days — and only come forward when they stand to make a profit.
In fact, on July 26 the Aldermen opted not to reduce a blight fine at a former factory at 253 – 255 Roosevelt Drive.
The 1.8‑acre property in question is known locally at the Mainolfi property. It is owned by 252 Roosevelt Drive Realty, LLC, which is the estate of the late Patrick A. Mainolfi.
There had been talk of turning the property into senior housing, but that deal apparently didn’t go through.
Now the property could be purchased by 29 Colony St., Ansonia, a limited liability company owned by well-known local businessman Pasquale (Pat) Civitella. It’s unclear what will happen to that deal since Derby declined to reduce the blight fines on the property.
McLiverty has said in the past that the buyer and seller need to work out the blight fine with each other — the city’s role should be simply to collect what is owed, not help facilitate a land deal.
