WHITEHALL – An abandoned building in imminent danger of collapsing was demolished Sunday morning after the Whitehall Village Board voted a day earlier to take it down immediately.
The board, in an emergency meeting the morning of June 29, voted to demolish a house at 1 North Williams Street after an engineer determined the structure could fall on its own at any time, Mayor Julie Eagan said.
The two-story house has been vacant for several years but became an increasing concern in recent days as a hole in the roof began to spread and the entire building appeared to lean toward the street. Village officials were worried the structure could fall into the roadway or onto adjacent properties – one of which is a residence, the other the Whitehall Elks Lodge 1491.
Police Department Officer-in-Charge Richard LaChapelle said his agency had been keeping a close eye on the building as its deterioration worsened and had contacted the Washington County Code Enforcement Office about the situation. But Eagan said a recent engineering survey of the building found it could collapse at any time, so officials opted to move forward without waiting for the county.
The village does not know if the building contains asbestos, Eagan said, because its condition made it impossible for engineers to enter the structure to examine the interior. The village public works crews that took the building down treated it as if asbestos was present, with the Whitehall Volunteer Fire Co. spraying the site down as the DPW crew worked to reduce the chance of dust spreading into the surrounding area.
Debris from the demolition will be left on site, Eagan said
The building, which is described in county tax records as a two-family residence, is owned by Brendon Mcnamara of Whitehall, according to those same records. However, village officials have said attempts to contact the owner about the condition of the property had been unsuccessful.
Mcnamara also owns a two-family-residence at 205-207 Broadway, the tax records state. He could not be reached for comment Saturday morning.
The village will cover the cost of the demolition and will levy the resulting costs against the property’s tax bill or the proceeds of any subsequent sale of the property, Eagan said.
