Tarentum considering hiring summer help to resume cutting grass on private lots

Tarentum officials are considering a policy reversal and resuming cutting grass on vacant private properties.

Last year, council agreed with its then-new borough manager, Michael Nestico, that the borough should not be cutting grass on vacant properties it doesn’t own. That position was a break with the borough’s long-running practice of keeping grass cut on abandoned lots.

Despite mixed feedback and results from last year, Nestico says that’s still his position, but Mayor Eric Carter wants council to consider cutting it again.

Council members say they want to bring on part-time summer help to take care of it.

“We want to make sure our town looks nice,” council Vice President Adam Blythe said. “In order to bring people into Tarentum, you can’t do it with weeds five feet high.”

“It’s about taking pride in your community,” Councilwoman Carrie Fox said, adding that the borough needs to “get back to what we used to do.”

Hiring part-time help would cost less than having borough public works employees do the grass cutting.

Council voted Thursday to seek summer help. The details, including how many will be hired and what they will be paid, haven’t been figured out yet, council President Erika Josefoski said.

Last year, Nestico said public works employees were cutting grass on 35 to 40 properties. An estimated 70% to 75% of the properties were not owned by the borough. The borough continued maintaining its own properties.

Cutting the grass on the private lots was taking two or three days every two weeks, he said.

“It does look worse,” Nestico said. But, “It’s not our property. It shouldn’t be the borough’s responsibility to pick up the slack when people walk away and abandon properties.”

Fox said the borough got complaints last year.

Mice, rats and snakes were a concern.

“When they were cut, our town looked a lot better,” she said. “It was well-groomed, it was well taken care of.”

Solicitor David Regoli suggested the borough file liens against properties where it cuts the grass.