[font=Verdana]HOLYOKE[/font][font=Verdana] - The entire block from 12 to [/font][font=Verdana]26 Main Street[/font][font=Verdana] will be torn down as one project if the City Council approves a $350,000 demolition appropriation now pending in the Finance Committee. [/font]

[font=Verdana]Work on the demolition of [/font][font=Verdana]12 Main St.[/font][font=Verdana] started in January but was halted after the north wall collapsed, killing a worker from Associated Building Wreckers and injuring another. [/font]

[font=Verdana]Mayor Michael J. Sullivan said engineers for the project were concerned that if work resumed on 12 and [/font][font=Verdana]22 Main St.[/font][font=Verdana], the adjacent buildings might collapse. [/font]

[font=Verdana]"The demolition company is going to push it all in," Sullivan said. [/font]

[font=Verdana]Funding is already available for the demolition at [/font][font=Verdana]12 Main St[/font][font=Verdana]. [/font]

[font=Verdana]The $350,000 appropriation request now pending includes another $70,000 for [/font][font=Verdana]22 Main St.[/font][font=Verdana] and $128,500 for [/font][font=Verdana]24-26 Main St[/font][font=Verdana]. [/font]

[font=Verdana]The funding package under consideration also includes $30,000 for asbestos removal at [/font][font=Verdana]409 Main St.[/font][font=Verdana] and $92,500 for demolition of [/font][font=Verdana]315 Main St[/font][font=Verdana]. [/font]

[font=Verdana]Sullivan said the city does not have the $18 million it would cost to demolish all of the vacant buildings in disrepair in the downtown section, most of which are privately owned. [/font]

[font=Verdana]But he said the city will move ahead to demolish dangerous buildings that it owns because of tax foreclosures. [/font]

[font=Verdana]While there had been some consideration given to selling bonds to raise the $350,000, Sullivan and City Councilor Raymond H. Feyre said it would be better to use funds from the certified free cash account. [/font]

[font=Verdana]"Bonding is usually for some attribute that has a life expectancy," Feyre said. "Bonding is not the most appropriate revenue source for demolition." [/font]

[font=Verdana]In hopes of keeping more old buildings from deteriorating to the point that they become dangerous, Sullivan said property owners will have to come up with comprehensive plans for repairs for buildings with structural deficiencies. [/font]

[font=Verdana]"We are asking property owners to be responsible," Sullivan said. [/font]

[font=Verdana]"We have suggested to people we will no longer allow them to come in piecemeal for permits, when there are structural deficiencies. They will need to come in with a comprehensive plan to repair and abate those deficiencies," he said. [/font]

[font=Verdana]In many cases, the city will require property owners to have a comprehensive plan for renovations developed by a certified engineer. [/font]

[font=Verdana]Before hiring Associated Building Wreckers to demolish [/font][font=Verdana]12 Main St.[/font][font=Verdana], the city ordered the last three owners of the building to tear it down or make it safe, but none of them did so. [/font]

[font=Verdana]The city will attempt to assess the current owner, Arlene Liriano, of [/font][font=Verdana]Boston[/font][font=Verdana], for the demolition costs, but after two months, city investigators have not been able to make contact with her. [/font]

Sourced from: The Republic Newspaper