Danville Mayor Scott Eisenhauer says the city wants some immediate action to protect the public from pieces of terra cotta which sometimes fall from Bresee Tower.
‘’We have debris falling from the building, and now it’s falling in larger pieces and it’s falling from much greater heights. That poses a significant danger to the public,’’ said Mayor Eisenhauer during an interview with VermilionCountyFirst.com News.
‘’The protective system that we have in place now only covers one side, where now we’re seeing debris falling off two. And it certainly isn’t designed to protect the public from the debris that’s falling from the greater heights that we’re seeing now,’’ said the Mayor.
The city has given legal notice to Land Company of Danville LLC. to fix the problem. But Scottie Porter, Executive Director of Historic Restorations, Inc, the parent company of Danville LLC is crying foul. Porter says he expected a different response from the city ‘’less than one week after our accepting the challenge of restoring Bresee Tower.’’
The Mayor adds the legal action is nothing new.
‘’Well this isn’t a new lawsuit. And that’s where I think Mr. Porter has been a little misleading in assuming that we waited for him to take over the corporation and then filed a lawsuit. The fact of the matter is we had begun these proceedings as soon as we found out that our negotiations with the previous leadership of Land Company of Danville was not meeting their obligations we had outlined in a meeting just a month prior.’’
In the latest legal papers the city is seeking a $200 to $1,000 fine per day for every day Land Company of Danville, Inc. fails to fix the problem. And Porter says that could take money away that is needed for the building’s restoration. But Mayor Eisenhauer says the city is not necessarily looking to collect that fine money.
‘’I’m not looking for some collection of a violation. What I want is for the ownership group – Land Company of Danville – to remediate the immediate dangers and install either protective systems from the public, or secure the terra cotta in a way that will prevent it from falling off the building and endangering the public. That’s all we want,’’ said the Mayor.
Mayor Eisenhauer added he wants to wish Porter good luck in his efforts to save and restore Bresee Tower.
