BELLEVILLE -- Just shy of a year after a fire shut down a salon, a health center and a thrift store downtown, there's still a gaping hole in the ground where they used to stand.
It's unclear who's going to pay for the demolition, the asbestos hasn't been cleaned up, and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is threatening to send the case to the Illinois Attorney General's office.
Critics say Mayor Mark Eckert acted too quickly in tearing the buildings down. He says he was just trying to protect the public from falling debris and that the property owners had consented.
State law requires those performing the demolition to first notify the IEPA and check for asbestos. Within hours of the May 26 fire at East Main and Jackson streets, Eckert had hired Hank's Excavating and Landscaping Inc. to tear down the two buildings, which contained three businesses -- the Classic Curl beauty salon, a mental health center for Chestnut Health Systems and the Hilltop Emporium thrift store.
The IEPA later inspected the site and found asbestos. The state in August cited the city, the two property owners and Hank's for allowing the asbestos into the air and for not notifying the IEPA of the demolition.
In that citation, they were told to clean up the asbestos, pay a $300 fee and report all of the steps to the IEPA. Because the parties haven't done that, IEPA spokeswoman Maggie Carson said, the state agency took the next step and told all of them April 5 that the agency would turn the case over to the Attorney General's office if nothing was done in 30 days. That time has passed, city leaders met with the IEPA, and nothing was resolved, Carson said. Now, IEPA officials are trying to determine what to do next.
The asbestos is embedded in the dirt where the structure used to stand, according to Carson. She said the health risk to the public is low; it was highest right after the fire. As long as it's not disturbed, people should be fine.
"Trespassing would be ill advised," she said.
Eckert said the city is cooperating with the IEPA, but he thinks the city's hands are tied because the site is not city property.
"The city wants to clean up that site more than anyone," he said.
The fire department bill was $13,000, but other than that, Eckert said, the only cost to the city was securing the perimeter of the fire site, and that was done by city employees who already were on the clock. They used materials the city already had.
Eckert said he doesn't think the city has any liability for the cleanup because it's private property. Eckert referred a reporter to city attorney Robert Sprague for comment on the current discussions because, although no one has yet sued the city, one of the parties -- he won't say who --has hired an attorney and the situation has become a legal concern. Sprague couldn't be reached for comment.
"Part of the discussion going on is getting Hank's paid by all parties," Eckert said.
It's not clear what the total cost of the demolition and rubble cleanup is. Last summer, the estimate was $68,000, but that was a running total and didn't include asbestos remediation.
A Hank's representative couldn't be reached for comment. Ronnie Phillips, who owns the part of the site that contained the thrift store and health center, declined to comment.
But Chester Nance, the owner of the salon site, has plenty to say.
He wants to sell his property, but he said he can't do anything until the mess with the IEPA is settled. He said his insurance company has paid his share of the demolition, though it cost him $14,200 to hire a public adjuster and fight the insurance company to get the money.
Nance blames Eckert for tearing down the building too quickly and without his consent, and he blames both Eckert and Hank's for not knowing to notify the IEPA first. Nance said Eckert asked him the day of the fire for permission to knock down a wall that threatened public safety. Nance said he granted permission for that, but not for the city to choose its own contractor and tear the whole building down and haul it away.
"He was totally in the wrong and he did not say anything about, 'Well, is it OK to demolish the entire building and haul it away?'" Nance said.
Eckert wouldn't respond to that accusation last week, but last summer he told the News-Democrat that the property owners didn't come forward when the demolition occurred and make clear what their desires were in the situation.
Nance said he's worried that the IEPA may sue him, but he has no plans to do anything about that until someone tells him what to do. He said his insurance company stands ready to pay for the asbestos removal.
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