At a meeting on August 18, Corry City Council approved a range of property, infrastructure, and administrative items.
Council gave the green light to the sale of a property on Shea Alley from the Erie County Repository to Jaylene Baran for $250. Baran told Council her family intends to clean up the parcel, store firewood for their home, and possibly plant trees. “We mostly wanted to clean it up and store our firewood… we also thought that maybe we’d plant a couple of trees,” she said. Council members noted that any future development on the lot would require zoning approval.
The Corry Community Foundation’s request to plant an oak tree in City Park as part of its 25th anniversary celebration was tabled for now, with Council opting instead to incorporate tree planting into upcoming park improvement projects. Council and Foundation representative Kimberly Hawkes agreed on a compromise to place a commemorative plaque this year and plan for new landscaping as part of the city’s Community Development Block Grant-funded park upgrades.
Council also approved a series of resolutions, including a five-year winter maintenance service agreement with PennDOT and authorization of city officials to sign firemen, police, and non-uniform pension plans. A long-discussed subdivision issue involving the Redevelopment Authority’s Bemiss Subdivision No. 2 was addressed, with RDA Director Bob Williams stressing the need for new single-family housing to rebuild Corry’s tax base.
“We’ve torn down 60 houses in the last 10 years and only built one,” Williams said. “At some point, we have to start building houses so we have more taxable people in the city.”
The move repealed Resolution 25-08 which entailed strict deadlines for the project.
In other business, Council accepted on first reading an ordinance to vacate a portion of Industrial Drive, allowing for a planned 30,000-square-foot business expansion. The project is expected to bring at least three new jobs, according to Williams.
The Corry Neighborhood Initiative was approved to purchase a property on Mead Avenue for demolition, with title to be held by the Erie County Land Bank. Council also appointed Jeffrey Fike as the city’s voting delegate to the upcoming Pennsylvania Municipal League summit, approved the sixth-year option of the fire department’s collective bargaining agreement, and gave the go-ahead for a waterline easement agreement with the Corry Municipal Authority.
Mayor Michael Baker reported that the 2025 K-9 Golf Event generated a net profit of $7,777 for the city’s police K-9 program.
