Selectboard grants stay on demolition of 69 Park Street

The town took an out-of-state owner and his local contractor off the hot seat Monday, and cancelled a demolition order for 69 Park Street.

www.rutlandherald.com    www.eagletimes.com

2016-02-23 / Front Page Print article Print Selectboard grants stay on demolition of 69 Park Street By Nancy A. Cavanaugh ncavanaugh@eagletimes.com SPRINGFIELD — After months of going back and forth, building contractor Raymond Thibeault reported to the Springfield Selectboard that work will soon be able to begin on the building at 69 Park St. The only cog in the wheel being the arrival of a permit from the state Fire Safety Department. Following Thibeault’s update, the board voted 4-1 to stay the demolition order pending the completion of the work within three months of the receipt of the permit. Selectboard member Walter Martone voted against the motion. The building at 69 Park St. was slated to be demolished due to safety issues at a selectboard meeting in January during a public hearing. The selectboard voted to demolish the building before Thibeault arrived at the meeting. “The permit is coming, I’m ready to start work,” said Thibeault. “I have $80,000 waiting for me.” Town Manager Tom Yennerell confirmed that the permit had been approved, but didn’t know when it would arrive. “The bids for the demolition have arrived,” said Yennerell. Martone wanted to know what the schedule for the work would be. “It should be done in eight to 12 weeks,” Thibeault answered. “There’s just two of us [working on the project] now.” Martone and Selectboard member George McNaughton were concerned about how much work would be done in the first month. “We don’t want to be sitting here 30 days from now and nothing has been done,” said McNaughton. Once the permit arrives, Thibeault said the structural engineer needs to do an inspection before they can start on the work, which will start with pouring concrete for the foundation of the building and using heaters if temperatures are too low. Selectboard chair Kristi Morris commented about the work Thibeault had done on 65 Park St., which is right next door. “If you can duplicate what you did at 65 Park St., we’ll have a viable building on the tax rolls,” he said. Selectboard member Stephanie Thompson requested that bi-weekly reports be submitted to the selectboard through the town manager to keep the board updated on the progress of the project. Martone requested that proof of the financing be provided, but was denied by Morris. “That will be covered by the progress report,” said Morris. McNaughton made the motion to stay the demolition with the conditions that a copy of the permit and bi-weekly reports would be given to the town manager. He also gave the conditions that the concrete foundation work commence as soon as the permit was received and that the project would be completed in three months after receiving the permit. The board then voted to stay the demolition. In other demolition project reports, Yennerell reported that the building at 129 Tarbell Road had been demolished. “I’ve been told it is demolished, I was sent photos showing the building is down and cleaned up,” said Yennerell. “We haven’t inspected it yet, but we will.”