Town, county take steps to secure fallen building

Monterey Town Council members along with Pulaski County officials gathered to discuss the best plan of action in regards to the collapsing of a portion of The Sportman’s Bar and Grill.

The building, once known as Kelsey’s Drug Store, fell on April 23 around 5 p.m. What was remaining, the north and south sections of the building, was quickly pulled down and a portion of Walnut Street has been closed for safety reasons.

The council called the emergency meeting on April 28, to discuss the best way to keep everyone safe as the collapsed building is in the road to the west. County commissioners Larry Brady and Terry Young were present with building inspector Dave Dare.

As the meeting began, Monterey Council President Jim Fleury thanked the Monterey Volunteer Fire Department for their quick response and the commissioners and Dare who arrived at the scene shortly after the building collapsed. He also thanked clerk-treasurer Linda McCune for all the calls she filtered on the day of the incident.

Town attorney Crystal Sanders said the emergency meeting was called to ensure that the town is doing everything they can to keep residents and visitors safe. The meeting was also scheduled to answer the question of what expenses the town is responsible for.

Dare said the owner of the building could not be contacted at the time of the collapse, so he instructed Zehner Excavating to demolish the north and south sections of the building that were still standing. An orange fence was also set up to secure the area off.

“I don’t think there’s any additional danger of anything falling in at this point,” Dare said during the meeting.

The next step, according to Dare, is to hire an asbestos inspector who will report if there is a presence of the fibers, the estimated amount of it and how to abate it. An asbestos abatement supervisor may also have to be hired when the debris is removed.

Fleury questioned if the town could clean up the roadway. Dare said cleanup shouldn’t occur until the site has been checked for asbestos.

A motion to have the asbestos inspection completed was approved by the council.

Dare later said the county would pay for the inspection at the cost of $1,500.

There was also a question of who owned the building. The property was recently part of a tax sale but it does not appear that a petition has been filed to take ownership of the property, according to Sanders.

The current owner, Courtney Hardin, who lives in Crown Point was contacted by Dare. Dare said at this time it does not appear that she will be able to financially help.

“She said that she actually closed the building in 2011 and at that time all of the insurance was canceled out as well,” Dare said.

Sanders said the town or county could file a civil suit against the property owner if needed.

“My recommendation would be that we contact the owner by letter and indicate to her that she has 30 days to provide some sort of financial assistance and to get these things done. I think we need to put her on notice, according to the statute, that there would be the potential for civil liability on her part,” Sanders said.

The council approved to give her 15 days to respond after the letter is delivered and that the letter be delivered to her.

Sanders said she wants to ensure that a 15-day notice is sufficient, according to state statutes.

Fleury said he is also concerned with the standing half of the Sportsman’s building and whether the outer wall is structurally sound. Dare said an engineer can be hired to look at the building.

A motion was also made to pay Zehner Excavating for the work they did on the day of the collapse. The cost was $500.

Fleury asked those in attendance if they had any questions. No questions were asked but some comments were made.

“Anything that the county can to do to help, we are here,” Young said.

The council will wait for the asbestos inspection results before they take any further actions. They also scheduled a meeting for Thursday, May 7 at 7 p.m.

Pulaski County Journal

114 W. Main Street
Winamac, IN 46996

(574) 946-6628
 

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