ROYALSTON — Royalston Building Inspector Geoff Newton updated the town’s Selectboard this week on steps he is taking toward the eventual demolition of a rundown garage located at 25 Main St. in the South Village. Newton said before much can be done, however, the level of asbestos contamination must first be determined.
“I feel,” said Newton, “that if we can get the asbestos evaluated in that building, it would help us to move forward a bit easier. I know we don’t own that property or the building on it, but if we did the evaluation (a consultant said), it shouldn’t go more than $700 for the evaluation. If I could get the $700 – up to $700, I’ll say – we could get someone to do that for us and then take the next step. But we’d probably have to file a lien against it because it is owned by two people.”
Newton asked if the board could check with the town’s attorney on such a plan of action and went on to say initial estimates of the total cost of demolition and removal are in the vicinity of $15,000. The building, once used as vehicle repair shop, is owned by Matthew Heuser and Ronald Sears, Jr. of East Greenwich, Rhode Island.
“All the wood has collapsed from the roof,” Newton continued, “and if there’s any asbestos on the shingles themselves, it will have to be determined whether the content of those shingles contains a significant amount of asbestos or a minimal amount of asbestos. So, it could be deemed to not be a ‘hot load’ – or it could be a ‘hot load.’
“If it’s a hot load, everything has to go out to Ohio (for disposal). If not, it can go into Harvey Recycling down in Fitchburg. Either way, it makes a difference on the cost of the project. We need to determine how much asbestos is in the contents of the building. Right now, it feels like the only thing that there is (with asbestos) is the shingles. But because it’s collapsed, it makes the whole building contaminated.”
In response to a comment from board Chairwoman Deb D’Amico, Newton said placing a lien on the property could address a couple of issues at once.
“Put the lien onto the property,” he said, “so if they sell it, we get on it with that $700 being paid back by the lien. If you don’t, you’ve thrown the $700 away and I don’t want that happening. I have the sneaking suspicion that once we start playing with this and tearing it down, they’ll just stop paying taxes and then the town is going to have to go get the building, and then we’ll own the land anyways.”
“So, Geoff,” D’Amico asked for clarification, “I’m going to ask the lawyers if we can put a lien on the property?”
“Ask if we can do this process,” Newton explained. “If we can go and do the evaluation for a fee of up to $700, and if I can put that on as a line before we take ownership. I don’t know how else to word that.
“I think under Mass General Laws, it’s a public nuisance, and the Board of Selectmen can deem it a nuisance and tear the building down. That way, we don’t have to wait three years to become the owner of the property through the non-payment of taxes.”
When the issue of the demolition was first raised in July of this year, Newton told the Athol Daily News that Chapter 139, Section 3A gives the Selectboard, after a review, the authority to declare the building an imminent danger and order it razed. The town, however, must place a lien on the property to proceed in that manner.
Newton said he had been told by Heuser and Sears earlier in the year that they hoped to rebuild the garage.
“I gave them a short time to get a structural engineer, have the building reviewed, and come with a plan on how they plan on redeveloping that building to make it acceptable,” he said at the time. “I have yet to hear from them.”
Newton added that the site, once the building is demolished, won’t be of much use to the town, or anyone else.
“It’s a small sliver of land; you cannot rebuild on that parcel. You can preserve it, maybe make another small park, I suppose. It’s a tough situation. We have to deal with all this and we’re going to end up with a piece of land that’s absolutely useless.”
Newton also said he’s unsure what effect, if any, the demolition of the building might have on the retaining wall that provides support to School Street.
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.