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Building demolition postponed
Rutland Herald | March 18, 2017
By SUSAN SMALLHEER
STAFF WRITER
SPRINGFIELD — Demolition of a burnedout building at 188 Wall Street has been postponed because of this week’s snowstorm.
Town Manager Tom Yennerell said Friday that the building, owned by Donald Bishop, would be torn down and the debris shipped to an upstate New York landfill.
“ The storm put the kibosh on that,” the manager said.
Yennerell said the Bishop house, which burned Nov. 14, 2012, had been tested for possible contaminants by Clay Point Environment a l . The asbestos had been removed from the partially gutted building, but he said testing showed a “high density of lead” and, as a result, the original and cheaper landfill that was slated to take the debris wouldn’t.
As a result, a new landfill for the lead-concentrated debris had to be found, Yennerell said. Crown Point Excavating was slated to take the building down Tuesday, but the snowstorm intervened and Yennerell said Crown Point has other snow removal contracts, delaying the Wall Street demolition.
He said the cost for demolition and trucking the debris was $7,900 and the town would place a lien on Bishop’s property to recoup its expenses.
Bishop had fought the town-ordered demolition, which came after a public meeting, an appeal and numerous examinations by engineers. Bishop said the building’s frame was not as damaged by the fire as the town claimed and insisted he could repair it. Appeals ended in the town’s favor.
Another of Bishop’s properties, at 23 Valley St., is also under a demolition order. That order has been appealed to Windsor Superior Court, Yennerell said.
Looks demolished to me.
ReplyDeletei hope Bishop is proud of himself,wasting all the man hours and money that has been put in to removing theses eyesores,i hope the town makes him pay for all the time,money put into this,plus charge him interest
ReplyDeleteNever, maybe Hunter will buy it for state funded housing.
DeleteRight up his alley
DeleteI'm with the above commenters; I can't believe our town officials are using Taxpayer funds to demolish this property. They're putting a lien on the property, big deal! How much more of OUR money are they going to throw down this black hole?
DeleteExactly right 4:12. The town should do whatever it takes to recover all the money lost fighting Bishop. They could make a great example out if him so maybe others will take the town seriously
ReplyDeleteYep, it's these varied and assorted rundown properties that are holding the town back from its next golden era. Great job by the town leaders to mask their years of ineptitude in fostering any real economic growth or instituting better fiscal management. They're succeeding in demonizing a few property owners and serving them up as red herrings to take the pressure off themselves for sticking the town deeper in the ditch year after year. The real delapidation has been occurring for decades now in the halls of municipal governance. What's next, the selectboard presenting a pinata of one of the offending property owners for the good citizens to wack away at and feel all better about themselves?
ReplyDeleteHm, are you blaming the entire Selectboard for the years and years of not doing anything? Seems to me that the Selectboard members who pushed through the demolition funds, and got serious about cleaning up the Town were only elected about three or four years ago. Some like the Chairman have been on there for over a decade, but not sure we can blame the ones who came on relatively recently for the sins of those who have been on the Selectboard for a decade or more or who used to be on the Selectboard.
DeleteNot much town leaders can do in a state run by hacks.
ReplyDeleteI remember watching this house burn. Bishop moved out a few weeks before-how ironic. I bet he had homeowners insurance and collected on that. A lien isn't going to do much unless Bishop sells his property that the lien is on. So it could be years.
ReplyDeleteAnd so Anonymous 5:38,are you saying that Mr.Bishop is an arsonist? You watched this family's house burn? Losing everything that you hold dear is a terrible thing.I for one would be very careful about making claims like that.Slander is a crime as is arson.Just saying.
ReplyDeleteBishop's character is well proven.
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