Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. says a proposed intergovernmental agreement between the city and Danville Township to demolish the latter’s former headquarters is a way to protect the downtown area from having another crumbling building.
The mayor says that the township only takes in a small portion of revenue from taxpayers, which it uses mostly for road maintenance. However, township officials have agreed to pay $50,000 of the $200,000-$250,000 it would take to demolish the brick structure at the corner of North and Walnut streets.
Among the problems the old building has is segmented office space, an elevator that doesn’t work, asbestos and utilities that have been turned off for two years.
“There are tons of black mold in the upper floor that would have to be remediated, too,” he explains. “You can tell where it looks like there’s an active leak. It’s in bad shape. There are two pages of building code violations that our building inspector found that would have to be remedied before it’s even able to be occupied.”
Not all of the aldermen on the Public Services Committee were on board with the agreement. Alderman Robert Williams voted against the agreement, saying it would take money away from house demolitions. While Vice Chairman Mike O’Kane supported the measure, he expressed concern about starting a precedent for other entities to seek the city’s help to demolish buildings, such as the former Lincoln School.
Mayor Williams says tearing the building down now will help alleviate other problems down the road.
“This is us being proactive and protecting our downtown, instead of being reactive and waiting for something to rot,” he says.
The township’s portion of the money will be paid in two installments: the first at $40,000 and the other at $10,000. The mayor says it will pay for part of the asbestos removal inside the building. Danville Township moved to a new location in Tilton in the summer of 2019.
