Do you know that the mayor and city council approved the purchase of a property on West Main Street which will now become a valuable piece of real estate on property that is a gateway to the city? The property is being demolished, purchased and the restaurant and apartment residents relocated at the cost to city taxpayers.

Who will get to purchase that property for a dollar?

We need to stop these sales of valuable city property to developers who get tax breaks and low interest loans at the expense of the taxpayers.

Apparently the city and whoever was contracted to remove the city owned buildings were negligent in their ability to safely remove the building without causing the damage they did.

Does this company that caused the damage have liability insurance? They were paid by the city to demolish the building and they caused the damage that is now sucking more resources from city taxpayers. We should have the company return the fees charged and pay for the damages.

This is from Two insurance websites that insure demolition companies:

"Collapse hazard" means to break down suddenly or give way; and includes "structural property damage" and any resulting "property damage" to any other property at any time.

Controls to address property damage claims include:
• Conducting pre-project survey of the area for general conditions and pre-existing damage . This can include video, photos, engineering surveys, identification of historical or old buildings/structures, surveys of the interior of neighboring buildings, etc .
• Conducting seismograph/ground vibration surveys prior to and during demolition and wrecking operations .
• Having a document retention policy for all records and reports related to the project (i .e . job files, log books, engineering reports/surveys, accident reports, pre/post job surveys, etc .)
• Shoring and demolition plans designed by professional engineer .

This is the article from the democrat and chronicle website

City to buy, raze building

The city could spend $70,800, including closing costs, to buy a West Main Street property that housed Critic’s Restaurant, which was torn down in May.

Demolition was an unintended consequence of the city’s planned razing of a vacant and condemned city owned structure that was part of a block of interconnected row buildings in the Bull’s Head neighborhood. The restaurant at 906-910 W. Main St. had been open for more than 100 years.

In a memo to City Council members seeking their approval, Mayor Thomas Richards wrote that the April demolition of the other attached buildings “revealed and exacerbated structural defects” in the Critic’s building. Costs to temporarily stabilize the restaurant were estimated at $60,000 to $100,000. An agreement with the owner was reached to sell the building to the city, which also plans to help with relocation expenses for Critic’s and tenants who lived upstairs.

The city should not be paying for an error made by the independent contractor Empire Wrecking.