SIDNEY – The Shelby County Land Reutilization Corp. (Land Bank) discussed the status of properties at a meeting on Tuesday, May 16.
The Board introduced and welcomed the newest board member, Sarah Graves, to the meeting. Graves is replacing Linda Meininger after her retirement.
The Land Bank currently has a balance of $555,177.78; $200,000 was a loan from the Shelby County Commissioners. Expenses this month included contract services, new computers, and expenses related to the Wagner demolition.
The Land Bank received no new units, but is in discussions with someone who is interested in donating a property. The grant for demolishing housing units has been revised to $228,000 and extended to May 1, 2024. The grant for demolition and remediation for the Wagner Manufacturing Complex has been extended to June 30, 2024.
The board is finalizing plans regarding the Wagner bids for demolition. The bids for Phase 1, which includes asbestos remediation and demolition of the remaining buildings and water tower, came in under what was expected. This caused the board some concern, as the cost for appropriate asbestos remediation was not reflected in the bid. However, the company that has the lowest bid has the ability to separate the scrap steel from the asbestos prior to the landfill, which saves on their costs. They have successfully done this with EPA approval on previous jobs and there is no expectation of any difficulties doing the same with the Wagner building.
The board also stressed that there is nothing salvageable left at the site- all doors, plaques, skillets, and other memorabilia was removed long before. The only remaining items are large timbers and steel. The Sidney Police Department will do a complete sweep of the Wagner property prior to the demolition for safety reasons.
The timeline for the Wagner Building demolition and remediation Phase 1 is 160 days from start to finish. Phase 2 will include the final clean up, soil samples and remediation, as well as the final grade of the land. Phase 2 will be a lot less visible than Phase 1, and the Land Bank hopes to have something on the site in the next couple of years.
The chair and vice chair of the Land Bank were re-elected to serve another two years.
