MOUNT CARMEL - The latest chapter in the battle between a property owner and Kulpmont Borough over a pile of charred rubble that has been sitting on a Chestnut Street lot for the past six month will be played out in magisterial district court.
David Dubbs, 60, currently living on North Sixth Street, Shamokin, pleaded not guilty to 21 citations filed by borough code enforcement officer Russ Moroz on July 25. A hearing will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 20, before Magisterial District Judge Hugh Jones, of Mount Carmel.
Dubbs has been cited 48 times by Kulpmont Borough since a January 25 fire destroyed his and three other homes in the 900 block of Chestnut Street, Kulpmont. The other three properties have been cleaned up, but the remnants of Dubbs' property remains on the site, as he claims he doesn't have the money to clean up the property and has no insurance.
Borough officials have allegedly spoken to Dubbs about signing over the property for $1 to someone who can clean it up, but Dubbs said that after losing everything in the fire, the lot is the only thing he has left and "doesn't want to give up what's left of my life for $1," Dubbs said.
So far, the property owner has been found guilty on 28 citations on the same charges, owing more than $22,000 in fines. A lien has also been placed on the property, according to Dubbs, for $3,900, the cost of an excavator used to help fight the fire that was smoldering under the rubble.