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St. Albans describes city demolition program; junior high demolition funded with ARPA and DEP grants
Summary
City building officials described an ongoing demolition agreement that has led to roughly 50 demolitions, a city demo budget of $722,000 over two years, and use of ARPA and DEP grant funds to remove a dilapidated junior high at about $1.2 million total.
Marshall Cheney and Mayor Scott James outlined St. Albans' demolition program and recent major demolitions on the City of St. Albans podcast.
Marshall Cheney said the city has completed about 50 demolitions under a demolition contract the administration developed. Cheney said the city had a demo budget when he took office and that the city has received $722,000 over the past two years to support demolitions.
Mayor Scott James described a longstanding enforcement and legal process that led the city to take possession of a dilapidated junior high. He said the city pursued fines and lawsuits dating to a 2012 agreement, that the owner ultimately signed the property over to the city, and that the city used a combination of ARPA funds and a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) grant to tear it down. Mayor James said the junior high demolition cost was about $1,200,000 in total.
Officials explained the city’s demolition agreement approach: the city will perform an abatement study, pay for abatement and demolition when required, and ask the property owner to reimburse the municipal dump fee; the refunded amount is then returned to the demolition account to support more demolitions. Officials gave example cost ranges: asbestos abatement can range into the tens of thousands ("it could go $2,030,000 dollars to be abated" was cited as a high example in the conversation), and simple demolitions in favorable cases can cost as little as $7,000, with the city covering a portion and the homeowner the remainder.
Officials said an upcoming demolition was listed for Spring Street pending council approval.
