Massena to retain engineer

MASSENA — The village is bringing in an expert to evaluate just how great a threat the crumbling Slavin buildings pose to the public.

Village Administrator Everett E. Basford told the board last week that he and Code Enforcement Officer Gregory C. Fregoe are concerned about a brick facade on the center of the three buildings, which previously had been held in place by a section of roof that collapsed recently.

After performing a plumb test on the wall last week, village officials discovered the top of the facade was leaning into the street about a foot past the foundation. "There's several cracks up top in the granite mantle that we've been watching," Mr. Basford said. "The concrete is spalling around the crack, which indicates there's stress there."

He said the village's options are limited because of the building's location on the Grasse River, its proximity to nearby businesses and asbestos contamination in the structures.

Mr. Basford said he felt it was important that the village do something to address the problem before the stress on the wall simply becomes too great and it falls into the street, possibly injuring people or damaging property. Water Street has been closed from the intersection at Main Street to the opposite end of the Slavin buildings for weeks now because of concerns about a collapse.

"I think we should be talking to an engineer," Mr. Fregoe said. "I'm not a structural guy, but I don't want to see anything happen to that building that would hurt somebody."

Trustee Albert C. "Herb" Deshaies resisted the proposal to spend money on an engineer, especially given the high cost of demolishing the buildings and cleaning up asbestos contamination and an underground oil tank. Rough estimates made two or three years ago put the cost of tearing down and cleaning up the buildings at $300,000 to $500,000.

The village will not hold title to the properties until St. Lawrence County completes foreclosure proceedings this spring.

While it does not yet own the Slavin properties, the village can take action to knock all or part of the structures down if they pose a threat to public safety, and then attempt to recover its expenses by applying the cost of the work to the property taxes assessed on the buildings. The taxes have not been paid in a decade, however, and more than $300,000 is owed, so officials believe it is unlikely they will recoup any of their costs.

The demolition of the brick facade could happen before the village owns the parcel, but Mr. Basford said knocking the wall down into the building could make the project more expensive and could compromise the structural integrity of the other walls or floors.

The board agreed to have Mr. Basford and Mr. Fregoe consult with an engineer on just how bad the facade is and what work would be required to stem the threat of collapse.