PB to take bids to remove debris of fallen buildings

PINE BLUFF -- An ordinance that proposed spending $240,000 from the city's reserve funds to clear debris from two downtown buildings that collapsed on Feb. 21 was pulled before its second reading at Monday night's Pine Bluff City Council meeting.

The ordinance called for waiving the competitive bidding process, but Pine Bluff Mayor Debe Hollingsworth said bids will now be taken after a majority of the City Council expressed concern. Once the bidding process is completed, aldermen will again take up the issue, the mayor said.

The former Band Museum and a vacant VFW post next door toppled about 5 a.m. Feb. 23, spreading rubble along the sidewalk alongside Main Street. No one was injured, and the buildings, which shared a common wall, were vacant.

City records show that Marlene Davis-Lilly, who sits on the Pine Bluff Historic District Commission, owns the former Band Museum building but has done nothing to either shore it up or tear it down. After several years of trying, the city has not located the owner of the former VFW post, Hollingsworth said.

Repeated attempts to contact Davis-Lilly have been unsuccessful.

Hollingsworth said Davis-Lilly and the Band Museum's former owners are in dispute over the property's title, which has hindered demolition efforts in recent years.

Hollingsworth said Davis-Lilly has told the city that she purchased the building without knowing it had been condemned and that the issue of ownership may have to be decided in court.

On Jan. 29, the Band Museum building's roof gave way, creating concern that a full collapse was imminent.

The southbound lanes of Main Street in front of the two collapsed buildings have been blocked with orange barrels for the past several months, and the museum building was condemned by the city more than two years ago, according to the Pine Bluff Planning and Zoning Department.

After the full collapse, the city blocked off both north- and southbound lanes of Main Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues.

On Feb. 23, Hollingsworth called an emergency meeting on the issue, saying that it was a public health and safety problem that must be immediately addressed. She said after consulting with several demolition contractors, A-1 Demolition was the only company willing to take on the job, and she recommended that they be hired immediately.

A majority of the City Council disagreed, with most saying it should be up to the building's owner to foot the cleanup bill.

An attempt at the Feb. 23 meeting to suspend the rules and have the ordinance read two more times and take a vote was denied by aldermen 6-2. All ordinances must be read three times before a vote can be taken -- unless a motion to suspend the rules is passed -- and typically they are read over the course of three different meetings before the City Council decides on the measure.

Alderman Thelma Walker, who has been one of the most outspoken against spending city funds to clean up the mess on Main Street, said the city "can't afford to spend money we don't have. Money in our reserve funds is not meant for this kind of thing. Hold the building owner accountable. That's what we need to do."

State Desk on 03/03/2015

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