North Avenue Building Down, More Info Needed

By Saturday afternoon, the fire-damaged building at 117-125 North Avenue was just a pile of rubble. Official details about the demolition were not available to this writer Saturday. (Click images to enlarge.)

On Friday, notice was given of a special council meeting Monday with three resolutions on the agenda, one authorizing an "emergency demolition," another establishing an appropriation of $250,000 to pay for it and a third awarding an emergency contract to Yates Real Estate Inc. to do the demolition.

The meeting is 6 p.m. in City Hall Library. Perhaps some explanations will be made regarding Saturday's action, including the sequence of events that resulted in damage to the restaurant to the right of the demolition site.

Workers from B&B Disposal and Demolition were on the scene.

A problem apparently developed with the large machine (excavator with grapple?) that was demolishing the building.

I don't know the terminology, but one of the treads malfunctioned.

A worker used tools to try to fix it.

The operator tried to use the big claw to fix the tread.

A small machine that was moving debris was also used to adjust the tread.

I had to leave due to the cold, damp weather and did not see the end of this story.

I was told the site would be secured by a fence and police would patrol it, but I was not able to return to verify that.

I retired in 2003 as a reporter and no longer have the standing to pester officials for information. I found out Saturday that my endurance for adverse conditions is also not what it used to be, so I had to walk home and call it a day. Maybe we all will learn more on Monday.

--Bernice