Chamber, city agree on demolition issue

The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce agreed with the city commission's decision to demolish the Miller and Nelson block buildings. However, the president of a local restoration company blasted commissioners for their ruling.

Fallout continued to trickle in from the public about the commission's decision on Nov. 7, voting 4-1 to command staff to proceed in tearing down the structures.

"I don't think you followed up with your plan," Frank Halsey, president of Mid Continental Restoration Co., Inc., told commissioners at Tuesday's city commission meeting. "No, matter of fact, I know you did not follow up on your plan. It bothers me that we didn't follow through."

He said the intention was to provide temporary stabilization to the exterior of the buildings while the the interior could be gutted, providing a more permanent stabilization that could lead to a developer using the walls for future development.

Halsey had been asked about what he thought of the decision by commissioners to demolish the structures.

Mid Continental workers stabilized and shored up the walls of the buildings after commissioners voted 4-1 to stabilize the structures in the months following the March 2005 downtown.

The city placed the area on the Internet trying to attract a developer that would incorporate the buildings' exterior walls into new structures. However, the city wasn't able to come up with a deal with any developers.

"I'm disgusted that the original plan wasn't followed through. There was an opportunity to have all of it paid for and not to lose that corner and have an empty lot remaining on that corner for Lord knows how long," Halsey said.

Numerous members on the Chamber of Commerce approached chamber leaders about development efforts downtown, asking the board to take a position on the Miller and Nelson Block buildings.

The chamber board of directors supported the commission's recent decision to demolish the buildings, Chamber of Commerce Chairman Jeff Sweetser said at the same commission meeting.

"In the year and a half since the fire, it has become clear that reconstructing a burned-out shell is not a practical solution," Sweetser read from a prepared statement. "To continue to leave the shells as they now stand will only cause more weathering and damage to the historic building materials."

He urged the city, before demolition happens, to try and salvage as much historical material as is possible.

Sweetser said current economic conditions in Fort Scott make it unlikely a developer will find it profitable to construct buildings at the soon-to-be-vacant lots.

The board recommended that officials with the city, chamber and downtown historic district committee work together to formulate a public use plan that incorporates both historical significance and economic development for the downtown area.

For now, the effort continues toward taking the steps necessary to demolish the structures.

City Manager Richard Nienstedt said city workers and a representative from Terracon, a company the city has hired to investigate whether asbestos is present in the buildings, surveyed the buildings on Tuesday.

"Asbestos dictates to us how we're going to handle that building," Nienstedt said. "We'll wait for the report to come back after they go though the buildings."

After the city receives the report, officials will have a clearer idea about what needs to be done to safely remove the structures. Also after Terracon completes the report, Nienstedt can file necessary paperwork with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Kansas State Historical Society, seeking their permission to remove the structures.