Lincoln City Council
Aldermen set to select a contractor for the demolition of 129 South Sangamon Street

 

[October 17, 2024] 

At the Tuesday night meeting of the Lincoln City Council, aldermen discussed at length the demolition of the property at 129 South Sangamon Street, the location of the former All About Fun Inflatables and Tactical Bunker. The building and the businesses are owned by Monte Denny. According to Building and Zoning Officer Wes Woodhall, a conversation with Denny revealed that just prior to the fire, the owner had allowed the insurance on the structure to lapse. Denny further indicated that he did not have the means to contract someone to demolish the property.

The streets are currently closed that border the building including a section of Pulaski Street and an entire block of South Sangamon. The street closure is causing a disruption in traffic flow and is also having an impact on the ReNew Consignment shop at the corner of the 200 block of South Sangamon.

Woodhall said that the street closure had been deemed as the best action in the best interest of public safety. It was noted that about a week after the fire that consumed the second floor of the building and damaged beyond repair the ground floor of the structure, the front façade of the building fell from the second story level, crashing onto the street and sidewalk below.

While the south wall is still standing, it is precarious and a concern for public safety.

Woodhall told the council that he put the demolition project out for bid and got a good response with seven companies placing bids. He said due to the age of the building, it is assumed that there will be asbestos, which requires what is termed as a “wet demolition,” which like it sounds means that there will be water hoses strung from a nearby hydrant to the building and the demolition site will be wet throughout the work.

The least expensive of the seven bids was Steve’s Trucking, Inc from Decatur at $195,380. Coming in second on the bids was Jaren Industries from Springfield at $210,000.

In addition to cost, the difference between the top two bids is that Jaren can start the project in 30 days while Steve’s had said it would be 60 days before they could begin the work.

The cost of the demolition is prohibitive, and aldermen heard from Treasurer Chuck Conzo on how this could be addressed. Conzo said that the city had approved an internal loan from the sewer Operation and Management fund to be used for clean up work at the city landfill. That money has not all been expended, and the council could approve applying that loan amount to the demolition of the Sangamon property. He said that of course, the money would have to be paid back to the sewer fund, but that could be done over time, with perhaps an annual payment of $25,000 per year. He said it would be recommended that the city committed to the $25K annually, but that it could then pay more than that amount if the budget would allow.

Aldermen discussed their frustration with the fact that the city was going to have to foot the bill and asked if there were any legal ramifications that could be put on the owner. City Attorney John Hoblitt said that liens could be placed on the property, and he agreed all avenues should be explored in further hold Denny responsible for the debt.

Regardless of who pays the final bill, the issue before the city is the wellbeing of the community and the re-opening of the closed streets. Therefore the city is going to opt to move forward with the demolition.

Alderman Kevin Bateman said he would recommend a motion be placed on the October 21st voting agenda to approve the low bid placed by Steve’s Trucking.

However, Joseph Hughes with Jaren Industries was on hand for the meeting and asked permission to address the council. He introduced himself and his parents who were in the room also saying that Jaren was a family-owned business, and they are the owners. He spoke about the process the company uses in such a demolition. He said that the building will be taken down “by hand” which means there will be no large pieces of machinery tearing at the building.

Because there is a shared wall with another building, Woodhall said it could not be determined or foreseen how that wall will respond to the demolition the adjacent building could also be in jeopardy. Hughes said with a “by-hand” demolition there was a greater possibility that the adjoining wall could be maintained, though again it won’t be known until they actually start work.

There was discussion on whether or not Jaron could modify its bid and the answer was no they had placed the bid and it could not be negotiated after the fact. Hughes said that in truth, Jaren does not have a large mark up in their bids to start with because they want to be competitive, so there isn’t much wiggle room on the price.

Though the price is higher, the advantages to choosing Jaron would be a safer demolition and also an earlier start time on the project.

Woodhall had said that there were legalities that had to be worked through before the demolition and that would be a 30 day event. Jaren can begin the work 30 days after the contract is signed by the city representatives.

Alderman Carig Eimer said the fact that the Hughes family had come to the meeting carried a lot of weight with him. He also said that because this is a matter of public safety, and that the south wall could come down, and the public would like to see the streets re-opened, he was leaning toward going for the higher bid and the shorter time frame.

Alderwoman Rohlfs along with Eimer spoke about the time of year we are entering and how that Jaren will start a month earlier which could make a large difference in the completion time of the demolition.

Hughes said yes, bad weather would hinder the operation, so starting sooner rather than later would be advisable.

Another concern voiced about the delay of start time is the matter of liability if something falls from that building and causes bodily harm or death to a citizen. Eimer said the lawsuits that would follow would be enormous.

Hughes, on the same note, said that once his company would be on sight, liability would come to them, if they did something to cause harm, they carried $6-million in liability coverage.

Eimer said he would like to see the motion for next week to include accepting a bid not to exceed $210,000 then the council could decide Monday who to award the bid to. He was told that would not be acceptable, but the motion on the agenda could be to accept the Jaren bid at $210,000, and if the council changes its mind the motion could be amended to accept the lower bid by Steve’s Trucking at $195,380.

The aldermen agreed to that recommendation and the agenda item next week will be to approve the bid by Jaren Industries.

For the record the seven bids from lowest to highest were:

Steve’s Trucking - $195,380
Jaren Industries - $210,000
Ezell Excavating, Villa Grove - $279,000
Fowler Enterprises, Elgin - $282,000
Lee Farms Excavating, Paxton - $344,900
Green Trac LLC, Bunker Hill - $416,075
Littleton Storm and Timber, Jacksonville - $948,000

The next meeting of the Lincoln City Council will be Monday, October 21, 2024 at 6 p.m.

[Nila Smith]