Elkins Council votes to demolish building
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ELKINS – Elkins City Council accepted a more than $20,000 bid to demolish a condemned former doctor’s office that has been deemed “extremely dangerous” to first responders and the community.
During City Council’s most recent meeting, the nine present council members voted in favor of Resolution 1955, which accepts a low bid and authorizes an expenditure of $23,782 from the Financial Stabilization Account for the demolition of the building at 119 Main Street. Fifth Ward Council member Burley Woods was absent from the meeting.
According to Resolution 1955, the building at 119 Main Street is “in severe decline and presents a significant safety hazard to the surrounding neighborhood and first responders.” After receiving no response to legal notices from the property owner and seeing no corrective actions taken by said owner, the Public Safety Committee recommended the City of Elkins solicit competitive bids for demolition of the structure.
Bids were publicly opened and tabulated on Aug. 21, and the Finance Committee recommended Council accept the “lowest responsible and responsive bid” of $23,782 submitted by Smokey Joe Enterprises, LLC. The Finance Committee also recommended the expenditure come from the Financial Stabilization Account.
At the request of Second Ward Council member Christopher Lowther, Elkins City Property Maintenance Code Official Jessie Kittle explained the property’s situation to Council. She stated that 119 Main Street was the former office of Dr. Mason Corder, who passed away in 2007, and included apartments on the top floor.
“That building has become a severe safety hazard to where you’ve got homeless people going in there,” Kittle told Council. “You’ve got addicts going in there. You’ve got people with warrants being pulled out of there, and I’m sure (Captain Ronald Bell with the Elkins Police Department) can tell you more about that building than what I can.”
Kittle reiterated that the building is “extremely dangerous” to first responders. In her explanation to Council, Kittle said holes have been cut into the walls to where individuals “can come at you from any angle,” She added that there is three feet of filth and drug paraphernalia on the floor.
In a memo to the Finance Committee, Kittle noted, “There has not been one wall or floor in the building that hasn't been cut into, stripped of anything that can be turned into cash, or soiled by feces and/or urine.”
Mayor Jerry Marco asked Kittle if 119 Main Street had been condemned. Kittle said the property has been condemned “for a while now.” She also noted that there was a reported stabbing on the property in July.
According to a criminal complaint connected to the July reported stabbing, while Elkins Police Department officers were attempting to detain a suspect in the stabbing who just fled 119 Main Street, the suspect allegedly became “aggressive” to officers and lunged at one of them. The suspect allegedly continued to try and fight the officers and reportedly made verbal threats to harm and kill them.
In her memo to the Finance Committee, Kittle attached photos taken in March of the inside of 119 Main Street. The photos show huge piles of debris and destroyed materials, cut-open walls, ceiling panels ripped out, torn-out electrical wiring, mysterious large stains and more.
In the memo, Kittle stated that she was positive the state of the building has gotten “exponentially worse” since the photos were taken; however, she said she will not be putting herself or anyone else at risk to go back in to get updated pictures.
Kittle also stressed in her memo and in her explanation to the Council that “every legal avenue” has been taken to notify the property owners, and yet the City has heard nothing back and has seen no improvement to the property.
Fifth Ward Council member Cody Thompson asked Kittle what the timeline for demolition would be once they received the funding. Kittle told him it would “be down in no time.”
Smokey Joe Enterprises, LLC, was just one of six contractors that submitted bids to the City for this project. Bids also came in from Allegheny Excavating at $47,665, Reclaim, LLC, at $68,950, Trigon Unlimitted, LLC, at $77,720, The Dirt Doctor at $110,955 and Marlo Construction Solutions at $132,247.
Fourth Ward Council member Andrew Carroll asked if there would be a lien against the property after the demolition, to which Kittle said there would be, but she expected that the City will never see a return on that money.
“The deed has several taxes against it for large sums,” Kittle said. “We won’t see a return on this, but the neighborhood will sleep at night.”
Elkins City Council will meet against at 7 p.m. on Oct. 15. Council’s scheduled Oct. 1 meeting has been canceled due to the Mountain State Forest Festival.