Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Chronicle : Creswell & Cottage Grove. (Creswell, Ore.) 2019-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 2019)
THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2019 THE CHRONICLE — 27 COMMUNITY FROM THE FRONT At left is an inside look of the Whistle Stop building on Mill Street in June 2019. Below shows the building’s state as of Aug. 27 The building was considered a complete loss after a November 2017 fi re, and council next month will vote on whether or not to abate the property. ERIN TIERNEY/THE CHRONICLE WHISTLE continued from 1 A LONG HISTORY Precision Tune-up! 119 00 SPECIAL $ Make sure your heating and air conditioning system is dependable, safe and running at optimum performance for energy savings. Tune-up includes identifying existing or potential problems that can cause an unexpected breakdown! Take advantage of our no-risk guarantee and schedule your appointment today! 541-746-9743 115 Lawrence, Eugene, OR 97401 CCB# 47396 There have been least four fi res in the building since it was built in 1897, including a fi re in 2014 and another in November 2017. City Manager Michelle Amberg said in a memo that there were several people living in the building for the ’17 fi re, despite it having been rendered uninhabitable from the 2014 fi re. Amberg also noted that the owners did not have a certif- icate of occupancy for the building. They were working on the building to bring it up to habitable standards when the 2017 fi re occurred. After that fi re, the structure was considered a complete loss as well as a “danger- ous building” by South Lane County Fire & Rescue Fire Chief John Wooten. Rocky Garton said in a 2017 interview that the rebuild was expected to be completed in a minimum of two years. The plan was to build a cider pub and retail shops and keep with the historical signifi cance of the building. The building was used to package, grade and ship fresh apples and pears around the country in the early 1900s, according to the book, “The Blue Valley: A History of Creswell.” Within the fi rst six months after the fire, at a meet- ing between the Gartons, Amberg, Code Enforcement Officer Shelley Humble and City Planner Maddie Phillips, Phillips advised that the building be completely removed. The foundation, however, can be left in place. Humble said at a previ- ous council meeting that the Gartons wanted to demolish the second story and care- fully remove the old beams from the fi rst fl oor to use in the rebuild, “so it is more labor-intensive than demol- ishing.” The Gartons agreed to remove the building after salvage was completed, the memo reads, which the owners estimated was to be completed by the end of summer 2018. It wasn’t. At the end of summer 2018, little progress had taken place, and the Gartons asked for an extension in anticipation of winter rain so that they could completely remove the second story and tarp up the fi rst story. Winter rain came and little had been done. Garton was instructed to give Humble monthly prog- ress reports of their clean-up efforts to complete the demo- lition of the second story and provide fencing and screen- ing. Large piles of debris were made on the property and fencing and screening was eventually added, but not in a timely matter. “If it is willful igno- rance we are dealing with, it doesn’t mean (the Gartons) don’t have to do what they have to do – this affects all of us,” McReynolds said, noting that they missed their window to mitigate that cost of demolition themselves. AIR QUALITY CONCERNS A general air quality complaint was filed with LRAPA on Aug. 15 concern- ing suspected asbestos on the property. The investiga- tion reveals that an inspector visited the property and spoke with Beau Garton, who said he initiated the demolition process as per the request of the City, but then realized an Asbestos-Containing Material (ACM) survey was required. Carlton Garton briefly showed the investigator an ACM survey completed by environmental remediation company ATEZ, in which the survey identified two materials that contain asbes- tos. The Chronicle was unable to obtain a copy of the ATEZ completed survey by press time. According to the investiga- tion, Beau Garton asked the inspector if they could demol- ish the structure around the two materials containing asbestos. The inspector said that they could not, that the asbestos-containing mate- rial would first need to be removed. Garton said that was a problem since the City expected the building to be demolished in a couple of weeks. That deadline came and went on Aug. 26 and the building remains erect. NEXT STEPS Demolition has been started, but is far from complete. Garton has pulled a demolition permit, but not any paperwork related to the disposal of materials containing asbestos, Humble said. Business neighbor Bill Spencer, owner of the Union 76 and co-owner of Point S Tire & Auto, said that he would rather see the City work toward abatement than to see the Gartons fi ned by the City. He said abatement would be a chance to get the job done, and would be a kind way to go about the situation. “The Garton young men desire to remove the eyesore and have hit a barrier that is fi nancial in nature,” Spencer said. “If the City can fi nd a no-risk way to assist them it would be a real service to our community.” If council were to vote to abate the property, due to the possible exposure to asbes- tos or lead, the City will contract with a professional demolition fi rm to complete the demolition, clean the property and dispose of the debris, Amberg’s memo states. City funding for this abate- ment may be paid through the City’s general fund, but the property owners’ total amount owed to the city will equal costs for the abate- ment, plus an amount equal to $10 or 10% of the abate- ment costs for administra- tive overhead, whichever is greater. Once the abatement is completed, a notice for the total amount owed to the city would be sent to the property owner; unless paid within 30 days, the amount assessed would become a lien against the property and a hearing would be held Oct. 14. “I’m kind of done with it,” Amberg said at a previ- ous meeting. “It is an atro- cious mess.” Noting that the owners had a year and a half to clean up the property, she said she would like to “move forward on whatever needs to be done with it.” Council will vote Sept. 9 whether or not to abate the property.