By Audrey Levine Staff Writer
MANVILLE — With about 50 vacant houses in the borough and another 10 to 15 not being maintained the Borough Council is considering law to ensure their upkeep.
Councilman Ed Komoroski discussed a possible ordinance Monday, saying the seasonal maintenance, such as cutting grass and shoveling snow, often has to be taken care of by the borough when the owner of vacant property can’t be reached.
Councilwoman Kathy Quick and Councilman Steve Szabo expressed support for a possible ordinance.
”We have to make sure we don’t have many years of spending borough money to cut the grass at these vacant homes,” Ms. Quick said.
Mr. Komoroski, who also owns Central Jersey Realty, said he began thinking about this possible ordinance after showing clients around a neighborhood, and noticing some of the houses were overgrown and not well maintained.
”It looks bad for the neighborhood,” he said. “It’s not fair that a normal homeowner has to be subjected to these kinds of neighboring homes.”
These vacant houses, Mr. Komoroski said, are often abandoned because of foreclosures, deaths or divorces.
According to Mr. Komoroski, the borough currently follows a property maintenance code, adopted in 2000, which lays out instructions for when a house can be considered vacant based on such factors as the height of weeds in the grass, garbage collection and other determinations.
Once a house is labeled vacant, Mr. Komoroski said, Walt Wilczek, the borough’s zoning officer, has to track down an owner with a summons and directions to take care of the property.
Unfortunately, Mr. Komoroski said, this process often takes longer than expected.
”If Mr. Wilczek has to track someone down, it could take six to eight calls,” he said. “Weeks go by, and the grass and weeds continue to grow. Everyone passes the buck, looking for someone who can do the maintenance.”
At this point, Mr. Komoroski said, if the summonses are not paid and the property is not taken care of, it becomes a tax lien. If the homeowner still does not come forward, the property can be auctioned off, which brings funds back to the borough.
Still, Mr. Komoroski said, it would benefit the borough to not have to wait however many weeks or months this might take to find a homeowner before moving forward with maintenance.
”There is no time frame in the current ordinance (for the tax lien),” he said. “The neighbors shouldn’t have to put with this.”
For a possible ordinance, Mr. Komoroski said, he would recommend that the process be streamlined so that when the grass reaches a certain height, a landscaping company is contracted to take care of the property and any overgrown plants or grass. The borough, he said, would pay for the service, but would get the money back through either a tax lien or eventual auction of the property.
For example, he said, if grass grows to 10 inches, and the homeowner can’t be reached within 10 days, the borough could step in right away.
In this way, Mr. Komoroski said, the search for the homeowner could continue, and a tax lien could be issued, but the vacant property could still be maintained.
Mr. Komoroski said this service would also be helpful during the winter months, when snow needs to be cleared from sidewalks.
”We don’t want the kids to have a problem when they are walking,” he said.
If an ordinance were to be drafted, Mr. Komoroski said, the borough could go to bid for a landscaping company immediately, so that they would be ready if a vacant house were to be found violating the terms of the ordinance.
”We could line up the companies in advance,” he said.
He said he would an ordinance in place before the first snow falls.
”We have to look out for the safety of the residents,” he said. “They shouldn’t be subjected to homes in disrepair.”

