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Onancock Bayside Revitalization group reports progress, cites title-search, contractor and staffing hurdles
Summary
Onancock's Bayside Revitalization (OBR) told the Accomack County Board of Supervisors it has begun title searches and contractor outreach for a grant-funded program to remove 22 unsafe structures, but reported delays in title searches, trouble locating heirs for owner consent and limited contractor capacity.
Onancock's Bayside Revitalization (OBR) provided the Accomack County Board of Supervisors an update July 16 on its grant-funded effort to remove 22 derelict structures in the Bayside community.
The presentation, given remotely by Khaled Albi, OBR project manager, said the 18-month project is funded by a $150,000 county grant and follows a memorandum of understanding that lays out steps including title searches, owner consent, asbestos testing/removal, demolition permitting and demolition.
OBR reported that Shore Title Company has completed five title searches and is working on nearly a dozen more. The group said it has engaged the Onancock Volunteer Fire Department to evaluate structures that may be removed by controlled burn and has circulated a request for information to identify qualified demolition contractors. OBR said a local attorney is reviewing an owner-consent letter drafted by the group.
OBR identified several challenges that it said are delaying progress: severe delays and backlogs at local title companies; difficulty locating heirs or other owners who can legally sign consent documents because deed, tax and other records sometimes show different names and owners often live outside the area; a limited number of licensed demolition contractors that meet the project's qualification criteria; and the grant's lack of any line item to pay project staff, which OBR said forces reliance on volunteers.
'2 months ago it took nearly two months to obtain five title searches,' Albi told the board, and locating authentic heirs to sign authorizations has been difficult.
OBR said next steps are to complete the remaining title searches, obtain owner consents where possible, continue contractor identification and secure county demolition permits. Project staff emphasized that asbestos testing and removal would follow owner consent and permitting.
A board member praised the presentation and agreed with OBR's request for grant allowance to cover project management costs.
OBR president Myra Taylor joined Albi for the presentation and, along with project volunteers, fielded board questions about timelines and permitting. No formal action was taken; the item was an informational update.
Published details from the OBR slide deck provided at the meeting indicate five structures were included in the first batch of work and photos of those structures were shown to the board as examples of unsafe conditions in the community.
