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Council hears costs to fix emergency demolition and securing after Dolphin Street collapse
Summary
At a June 16 pre-meeting, Mobile City staff told council the city completed emergency securing and demolition at multiple downtown addresses after structural failures during Mardi Gras; work was done under the city's emergency nuisance authority and contractor costs are being fixed to assess to property interests.
The Mobile City Council pre-meeting on June 16 heard city staff present the final, direct costs for emergency securing and demolition at multiple downtown properties after structural failures during Mardi Gras.
City building official David told the council the work was completed under the city's emergency nuisance and abatement authority after a framed section at 470 Dolphin Street collapsed into the street and sidewalk during the Mardi Gras crowd. He said contractors were hired immediately to remove compromised framing and secure adjacent structures. "This is a fixed cost item on the agenda, which means the work has been completed," David said.
David said a separate parcel carrying two addresses (661 and 663 Dolphin Street) was secured after a door and plate-glass window were exposed; staff worried a passerby could be injured. At another location the city performed a completed demolition after an originally contracted firm failed to perform; some items removed from that site (a vehicle and a shipping container) were ultimately cleared by the property owner, David said.
The vice president of the council asked staff to explain how the fee amounts were calculated; David replied the amounts reflect direct contractor costs for the emergency work. The council did not record those line-item amounts in the discussion transcript; the staff presentation said the costs shown are the contractor's actual bills and therefore the figures on the agenda represent the work the city completed.
City staff stressed the emergency clause triggered the work because the structural failures presented an immediate public-safety hazard during large public events. David described the process by which municipal enforcement identifies and addresses such structures, including field observation and 311 reports.
The matter remains before council as a public-hearing action to fix costs; fixing costs formalizes the contractor charges associated with the city's emergency abatement so they can be assessed as allowed by ordinance. The council did not vote to cancel or reduce the costs during the pre-meeting; the staff record will be part of the formal public-hearing file.
