Town seeks to demolish Park Street house

The town is pushing ahead with plans to demolitish an unsafe and dilapidated building across from Park Street School. The Select Board voted Monday night to pursue bids for tearing down the old house at 69 Park St.

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Selectboard votes to put 69 Park St. demo out to bid By Allan Stein allans@eagletimes.com SPRINGFIELD — With their patience running thin, selectboard members voted to go out to bid for the demolition of an unsafe building at 69 Park St., while giving the owner the next two weeks to obtain the paperwork to begin making structural repairs that the board said should have been done six months ago. "The only way we are getting the owner's attention is to say we have had enough," Selectboard member Walter Martone said at a board meeting on Monday. He said the building is "dangerous. It is a fire hazard. You have to think about the people that live in that neighborhood too. We have got an unsafe condition there." The board voted 5-0 to solicit bids to demolish the building and make good on a July 20 order that the former dwelling come down if substantial repairs had not been made. The vote was taken at about 7:15 p.m. in the absence of building contractor Raymond Thibeault to represent the owner as the board instructed. An irate Thibeault arrived about 10 minutes after the vote, saying he thought the public hearing was scheduled for 7:30 p.m. "That's kind of stupid," Thibeault said of the board's vote without him being present. "I've got everything ready to go. It's kind of insane." The hearing was the continuation of a Dec. 28 hearing in which Thibeault requested a time extension due to a lack of funding to do the repairs. The structural work will require state permits, as well as an approved plan for reconstruction. "I don't know how long is too long to let this go on at Park Street," selectboard member George McNaughton said. "We are getting gamed. I don't know if it is fair to the neighbors and the community to let this gaming go on indefinitely." Town Manager Tom Yennerell said it would take at least three weeks to obtain bids for the demolition work. "We need to act and show that we are serious," selectboard member Stephanie Thompson said. Springfield resident Richard Andrews, who lives in close proximity to the property, agreed that the board was being "gamed." "Either the owner is insufficiently motivated or is insufficiently capitalized," he said. Thibeault said that cleanup of the property is well underway, but there has been a holdup on the permits as well as funding. "I have spent a lot of money [working] on that house, a lot of time, a lot of effort. It ain't fair [to order demolition]. It ain't fair at all. I mean, give me a break here," he said. Thibeault said a pile of debris has been removed from the property and construction materials are ready to be installed. The selectboard gave Thibeault until Feb. 22 to obtain the necessary paperwork to move forward with the repairs. Otherwise, the board was prepared to "light the fire, so to speak, and let the [demolition] order stand," selectboard member Peter MacGillivray said. At a separate unsafe building hearing on Monday, Kenneth Reynolds, owner of a building damaged by fire at 15 Furnace St., was given until April to complete repairs to the structure in accordance with a July 20 order or the property would have to be demolished. Reynolds said that the cold weather has delayed the pouring of a new concrete foundation. He agreed to remove demolition debris from the property prior to the board's Feb. 8 meeting.