Razing done by May?

DUNKIRK — Two dilapidated downtown buildings here will be only memories by the end of next month, according to action taken Monday by city council members.

A contract was unanimously awarded to LPI Paving, Excavating and Concrete of Portland for the demolition of the two structures at 120 and 124 S. Main St.

The buildings on these sites are next to land where the city demolished three other structures during the past year. The price for work was set at $9,280 which includes removal of all debris from the buildings and removal of the foundations. All materials will be hauled to the Jay County Landfill, where the city will pay the landfill fees, officials said.

Dunkirk Mayor Sam Hubbard said that LPI president Bill Davis told him the work should be completed by May 15 in plenty of time for Glass Days Festival preparations to begin.

LPI is the same firm which demolished the other buildings in that area. The landowners recently signed over their rights to the property to the city of Dunkirk. Two separate appraisals indicated that the land had “negative value” due to the present condition of the buildings, which were described as “in a state of extreme deterioration,” city attorney William Hinkle said.

The property at 124 S. Main St. was owned by Brian Whitesell and Mary Whitesell, and the land at 120 S. Main St. was owned by Randy Phillips.

Also topics of discussion at Monday night’s council meeting were four requests for water or sewer bill adjustments. In recent months, the council has veered off its strict policy of only making adjustments for underground water leaks. However, at Monday’s session council members indicated they were going to hold fast to that policy once again.

Hubbard said he now believed the council had made a mistake in allowing for more leniency in making water bill adjustments. He suggested that the four requests presented Monday should be granted, and then the council should revert to its stricter interpretation of the city ordinance once again.

However, the other council members present, Dan Watson, Craig Faulkner, Connie Whetsel and James Doughty, disagreed, saying they preferred to return to the stricter policy immediately.

The matter was discussed several times during the meeting with Hubbard originally asking that all the requests be considered in one motion. Later he proposed that they be acted on separately.

Finally Watson made a motion not to make any adjustments on the four bills unless the petitioners returned to present a case for the leaks being underground. Several of these leaks have been repaired, so the property owners should know if the leaks were underground or not, city officials said.

The requests for water bill adjustments had been submitted by Teresa Storie, 342 E. High St.; Toy Caffey, 702 S. Franklin St.; Joyce Wells, 116 E. Grand St.; and Marc Myers, 350 E. Center St. None of those individuals were present at Monday’s meeting.

Also at Monday night’s meeting, council members:

•Agreed with a recommendation from water department superintendent Dace Mumbower to accept a low bid from Peerless-Midwest, Inc., Westfield, for annual inspection and maintenance work for the city’s wells and pumps. According to the terms of the agreement, this service will be provided free in 2004, and then at a cost of $170 per well and pump site the following the year.

Mumbower said that his department also was investigating several other possible options aimed at improving the quality of city water and reducing its harshness and iron content.

•Approved one-year insurance policy extensions on city-owned vehicles, property and general liability coverage totaling $44,721, and a one-year extension of workman’s compensation insurance coverage for $20,470 through the Barnum and Brown Insurance Agency, Dunkirk.

Watson said that after reviewing the matter with Brown, he realized that although initially the $44,721 figure appeared to be a 6 percent increase over the previous year’s coverage, he learned that at least half of that increase was the result of new, larger vehicles which the city had purchased during the year.

•Approved the appointment of Dunkirk resident Bryan Jessup to the city park board.

•Decided against having a spring clean-up dumpster day at the city park this year. Watson said that city residents could arrange for large item pick ups from the city’s refuse collection firm, BestWay, by calling the clerk-treasurer’s office at city hall.[[In-content Ad]]