Labor of Love Ministries has plans for Monessen
Submitted photo
LaTrina Hall, front left, founder of Labor of Love Ministries, took some youths recently to Monessen City Hall to see the lighting of the menorah. While there, taking time with Hall to make holiday cards for the senior citizens’ homes in Monessen are, clockwise, from left, Veronica DeiCas, Marie Hall and Cashmere McBride.
Submitted photo
In Monessen for the recent lighting of the menorah at City Hall are, from left, Mayor Matt Shorraw, Veronica DeiCas, LaTrina Hall, Cashmere McBride and Shareal McBride.
MONESSEN – LaTrina Hall is a proud graduate of Monessen High School.
That’s why she wants to give back to the school district and the community where she once lived. In recent years, she has tried to find ways to partner her nonprofit organization, Labor of Love Ministries, with city entities.
Hall feels she has come up with just the right project.
“About three months ago, we found an opportunity where everything finally lined up,” she said. “We’d like to do a beautification and improvement of some green space that is just literally left behind and kind of overgrown.”
Hall founded the Labor of Love Ministries in 2009. In total, there are three board members from the organization who are from Monessen.
The area Hall has targeted is 111 lots over six city blocks from Ninth Street to 14th Street along the hillside that faces Route 906. Hall said her organization would like to partner with the city and Monessen School District to revitalize the area. The Monessen Redevelopment Authority owns 62 of the lots. They are the lots that access the backside of the hill.
The area, once the Morgan Avenue neighborhood of Monessen, was demolished in the 1960s and 1970s because of urban renewal.
“For the last 40 years, the property has been left undeveloped and empty,” said Hall, a 1999 graduate of Monessen High School. “The hillside can clearly grow anything, so we want to put gardens there so kids can learn a little bit about farming, how they can do it, hands-on, in the classroom.”
Hall said the project would allow students to learn about food, farming and nutrition and aspects of each, such as how the food is produced and what type of foods can be produced at home. The project also would include a reading and writing component for those involved where they can read about what they’re learning and write how they feel about it.
Hall also has plans to build a retaining/memorial wall in the area which will help to stabilize the hillside.
City Council voted recently to sign over the lots owned by the city to the redevelopment authority. The redevelopment authority has to approve the transfer of each of the 111 lots to Hall.
“The properties she wanted from us have all been approved,” said Mayor Matt Shorraw. “The city is transferring our portion of the properties to the city’s redevelopment authority to be forwarded to LaTrina.”
Shorraw explained that if the city owns property and it is not transferred to the redevelopment authority, it has to be appraised and put out for sealed bid.
The redevelopment authority is responsible for acquiring, selling, rehabilitating and redeveloping vacant properties in the city. The authority owns about 150 vacant properties in Monessen.
The mayor said he is in favor of Hall’s proposal.
“The properties sat up there empty for 40 years. They tore this all down. They wanted to redevelop it. It’s 2021 and it’s still an empty hillside,” he said. “Why wouldn’t we want to see something done up there? It would be good for the neighborhood.”
Lou Mavrakis, chairman of the redevelopment authority, said that governmental organization doesn’t like to get involved with nonprofit organizations.
“The redevelopment authority is in business for one thing – to get properties on the tax rolls in the city of Monessen, not to give away properties,” he said. “I’m not even sure if we can give the property away to a nonprofit. She made mention that she wanted some property to feed the needy. If LaTrina is interested in feeding the people of Monessen we have plenty of level lots she can use that have water and everything.”
Mavrakis said there was another party interested in the property who he declined to name. He said that party made a presentation and it looked promising for it to possibly get the property.
He did indicate that he thought the city could give the property to Hall, but Shorraw said the Third Class City Code does not permit that.
Mike Kelly, a redevelopment authority board member, is in favor of the plan, but doesn’t think his feeling is shared by some other members.
“I don’t think they want LaTrina’s plan. Our board doesn’t really want to deal with her nonprofit because there will be no money coming in,” Kelly said. “LaTrina and them are good people. Here’s somebody that has a good idea; why not give her a shot?”
There is a personal connection for Hall, as she said her family lost four homes in the area because of eminent domain – mother, grandfather, aunt and uncle and great grandparents – and were among the last residents to give up their property.
“It’s a viable property. If trees and shrubs can grow there, then food can grow there,” Hall said. “I’m not after it because of (her family’s history with the property), but that’s why I know that the property is not garbage or wasteland or uninhabitable.”
Hall said she plans to meet with Monessen School Board in December to explain the proposal. She said she is waiting to hear from the mayor or a member of the redevelopment authority.
“We’d like to see the properties developed not just to have the fruits and the vegetables, but to have the space for them to learn hands-on. The food itself goes back into the community, the food banks and the school district,” Hall said. “They won’t give the land, because the land won’t be taxed. The land has been sitting empty for 40 years. When you haven’t been getting any taxes for 40 years, that’s not a valid reason to hold up the project.”