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19 - Belford Building Demolition ProjectItem No. 19 Memorandum TO: Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem & City Council FROM: Grayson Path, City Manager SUBJECT: Belford Building Demolition Project DATE: June 26, 2023 IC QX1W@1�1►" The Belford Building, located at 260 South Main Street, is in a state of dilapidation with portions having collapsed, and needs to be demolished. It has therefore been deemed a public safety hazard. The City of Paris has an existing and valid demolition order, from the Buildings and Standards Commission, against the Belford Building. All appeals of this order have been exhausted. In addition, the 6t" District Court has applied a Judgement Lien for Civil Penalties, which are continuing to accrue. Through communications with the owner, there are no known plans by the owner to act on this issue. On September 26, 2022, the City Council approved a Professional Service Agreement with Jason Hart Engineering, PLLC, to design the demolition of the Belford Building. This is then to be followed by procurement of a contractor to perform the work. On January 9, 2023, the City Council approved Amendment #1 to this Agreement to include asbestos-related services. On January 23, 2023, the City Council approved Amendments #2 and #3 to this Agreement to include the South Main Acquisitions, LLC (SMA) building to the immediate north as well as an agreement with SMA for the demolition of this building. Given their physical close proximity to one another, the current condition of the SMA building, the fact that the City does not have orders on the SMA building (thus cannot spend public dollars on this property), and the ease of tearing down both buildings at one time for the contractor, SMA was willing to partner together to have their building demolished — at their expense — at the same time. Since this date, SMA has re- examined their building and informed us that they would instead like to keep their building standing as they have potential future plans for it. We then resumed our original course of designing the demolition of the Belford Building in a manner that can be carried out without demolishing the neighboring building. They have offered a release of liability to the City, engineer and our contractor should demolition of the Belford Building unintentionally spill over and impact their building. Stephanie Harris, City Attorney, and the SMA Attorney are working these details out, to be brought back to you at a later time. STATUS OF ISSUE: Hart Engineering, PLLC, has completed the design, traffic control plan (with TxDOT approval), and bid/contractual specifications and documents; we are ready to proceed with bidding this project in pursuit of a qualified demolition contractor. The RFB will be issued with a due date TBD. With the assistance of Hart Engineering, in addition to the minimally required advertisements in the Paris News, we will advertise on online platforms where appropriate as well as direct contact with known qualified entities. Jason Hart is available tonight to answer questions regarding the specification documents. Todd Mittge, City Engineer, will serve as staff liaison. Following demolition of this building, it is our intent to take appropriate measures to take ownership of the property given significant public dollars were spent in abating this nuisance. BUDGET: Working with Hart Engineering, they have developed an estimated cost for this project based on design and known pricing in the market. So as not to influence bids, we have not listed that estimate in our council packet, however that information is available to the City Council upon request. The project is estimated to be within budget and should it exceed, we have available ARPA funds should the City Council still wish to pursue the project under that scenario. OPTIONS: 1. Authorize City Staff to proceed with bidding the Belford Building Demolition Project. Award of a bid and contract will be brought back to the City Council for your consideration. 2. Request additional information, postpone the project, request changes to the specifications and/or scope of the project, and/or cancel the project. RECOMMENDATION: 1. Authorize City Staff to proceed with bidding the Belford Building Demolition Project. Award of a bid and contract will be brought back to the City Council for your consideration.