[FONT=Verdana]An architect also must document Lake Alfred School before it is torn down.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana]

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[FONT=Verdana]City officials in Lake Alfred, Fl are looking for a demolition contractor to tear down the former Homer K. Addair Career Academy.

But because of the building's age -- it was built in 1925 -- and history, the city has to jump through some hoops before the walls come tumbling down.

While the city looks for a demolition contractor, the county's Housing and Neighborhood Development Division is awaiting approval from the state on the licensed historic architect the county wants to hire.

The state requires that an architect document the building before it is torn down, said Nancy Hurley, the county's Housing and Neighborhood Development grants manager and planner.

The architect will be take pictures and will provide an artist's rendering and a history of the building.

Mayor Ed Smith said he's anxious to see the building demolished.

"I understand the process but it seems that the process, is interminable," he said. "It's a drag on the city financially."

The county's Housing and Neighborhood Development Division approved a $240,000 grant to demolish the building.

Without it, city commissioners said they would not have the funds to demolish the school.

City officials decided to demolish the dilapidated building on East Cummings Street after a 2004 straw ballot, in which residents voted that they did not want the city to keep and renovate the old school.

The city is spending $8,000 annually for insurance, electricity and an alarm system for the building.

Once the building is demolished, some of the commissioners would like to see another building put in its place to be used for recreation and administrative offices. But no formal decisions have been made yet about what do with the property.

City Commissioner Lowell Schmidt said he looks forward to the day when the building comes down.

"The people of Lake Alfred spoke two years ago to take it down," he said. "It couldn't happen soon enough for me."

City Commissioner Leon Juday said he was happy when he learned the city received a grant to help demolish the building. He also said the building needs to be torn down as soon as possible.

"It's a hazard the way it is," he said. "Vagrants get in there. During the storms, part of the roof is torn off."

The sooner it is razed, the safer it will be, Juday said.[/FONT]