Buildings meeting goes ‘well’

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Hillsboro Safety and Service Director Dick Donley told The Times-Gazette that Friday’s meeting with the owners of three West Main Street buildings the city previously deemed uninhabitable went well, and all were agreeable to looking at demolition contractora’ bids, which he said would be submitted on Tuesday.

“One contractor wants to have a bid in by Tuesday,” Donley said. “And we’ve got another guy coming in Tuesday morning who couldn’t be here today, but he wants to go through the buildings and put in a bid, too.”

He said the objective is to have a plan in place for final disposition of the three structures to Hillsboro Municipal Court Judge David McKenna by Wednesday morning. McKenna earlier expressed dismay at the seeming lack of progress stemming from legal challenges since the June 3 collapse of part of a building at 115 W. Main St. that was owned by J. Steven Fettro.

“I want to be able to explain to the court that things are in motion and that the owners were all receptive to what is going to have to take place, and we’ll go from there,” he said.

He said that once a decision is made on demolition, the responsibility of the owners will be the clean-up of debris.

The buildings set to be demolished, Donley said, are located at 119, 117 and 115 W. Main St. and are the former Slo ‘n Low restaurant building, an adjacent structure owned by Helen Walton and Joe Mahan, and the Fettro building which has already partially collapsed.

“They said they’ll have to check the Slo and Low building to make sure it’s asbestos free,” Donley said. “And then as soon as they wrap up the details on sewer and water lines, they’ll be able to start demolition.”

Donley said he feels everything is coming together and that he can present municipal court with a progress report that shows a plan of action in place.

“We’re going to stay on top of this and not let it lay,” he said. “I told all the owners that as soon as we get this bid in, we’ve got to do something because I’m the receiver, and I’m going to make it happen and get this place cleaned up.”

Reach Tim Colliver at 973-402-2571.

Three West Main Street buildings the City of Hillsboro previously ruled uninhabitable are shown in this picture.
https://www.timesgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2019/08/web1_f-West-Main-Buildings.jpgThree West Main Street buildings the City of Hillsboro previously ruled uninhabitable are shown in this picture. Tim Colliver | The Times-Gazette
Donley: ‘I’m going to make it happen’

By Tim Colliver

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