Small Town Living

We love our small rural towns but those of us who have been involved in local government know it is not always easy to have the resources we need to deal with our challenges. 

 Abandoned buildings.  You find these all over the country- the casualties of interstates, declining populations, mobile society, etc.  There is always the hope that a sound economic development policy will help fill  ese buildings so that they may become a productive part of the local economy.  However, there are those that have deteriorated to the point where restoration is no longer an option.  They just plain need to go away.  It is hard to get the owner or absentee owner to take responsibility and demolish the structure. 

We have a dangerous building ordinance in the Town of Genoa and we can do enforcement through a process with a building inspector.  At the end of the process is the ability to go in and clean the property and do a cost recovery.  However, the general budget doesn’t have enough in it to pay for the upfront costs so we try to do the basics such as boarding windows and cleaning up the area.

 Our current education on demolished buildings is rooted in our old school house.  A portion of the building was a WPA project in the twenties constructed out of adobe bricks. Included in the building at that time was a gymnasium which sat below ground level so the bleachers could sit on concrete “steps”.

In the early fifties, a cement block addition was put on to accommodate the growing student population.  This added classrooms, locker rooms, a library, and a lunch room.  The high school was in the “new” addition and the grade school remained in the adobe portion.

 In the mid-eighties, Genoa School District consolidated with the Hugo School District and the school was closed in Genoa.  This set the precedent of years of different owners, each one taking anything of value from the school, such as the wooden floors.  Each owner increased the level of exterior demolition to the school.   Sadly, this property was adjacent to the Town’s park playground.

Three years ago, the current owner was given a cease and desist order from the Colorado Department of Health and Environment (CDHE) for demolition without a permit.  It didn’t take long for citizens to begin pressing the Board of Trustees to do something about the mess.  At our first meeting after the order, we all looked at each other trying to figure out our options.  We could purs ue the property owner, who lived in Town, but we knew he would fight us every step of the way through legal challenge.  That would become costly and we would still have a mess.                                                                                                                                                                               

We decided to pursue possible grant funding through someone, the Colorado Department of Health or the Environmental Protection Agency.   After numerous phone calls about the current status of the site, we finally started getting information.   We wanted to know what was going to happen next and what enforcement role the CDHE was going to play. Unfortunately, we found out pretty quickly the answer to all questions was “not much.”

 Jesse Silverstein, Executive Director of Colorado Brownfields, helped us navigate the myriad of information and potential options.  We had to deal with two INDEPENDENT divisions:  solid waste and air quality.  Both Jesse and representatives of CDHE were very good about traveling to Genoa for public meetings to keep everyone in the loop as to the choices that had to be made.

 Through coordinated effort, we were able to get a $10,000 grant to have an environmental survey done to determine the amount of asbestos and other materials present in the building.  The asbestos abatement estimate came in at $385,000.  For those who do not understand small towns:  The assessed evaluation of our ENTIRE town is $419,000.  We are talking a little over $11,000 per year property taxes for the general fund! We couldn’t even comprehend what a 20-30 percent grant match would look like for that amount if we did find a grant. As if that was even an option.

 Last year, things started to fall in place.  The property owner indicated he would be willing to transfer the property to the Town which was what we would need to apply for any further funding. Although taking possession of a “hazardous waste site” was unsettling, the Board voted to take the property.  Funds from the American Recovery Act allowed the creation of an additional funding stream for which we could apply for asbestos abatement dollars. 

 We have applied for $250,000 grant funding and are hopeful we can work out details for the disposal of the rest of the debris through assistance from Colorado Brownfields.  The grant has been in the review process for several months.  A hearing at the end of August before the Board will be the last step.

 One of the requirements of the grant was to indicate what would happen with the property once it is cleared.  It has to be for the betterment of the community. We are in the process of creating a new park south of the property which will include new playground equipment and picnic pavilions.  We are planning to make the park as “green” as possible using recycled materials and solar lighting. 

We would like to build a community building on the cleared site.  We do not have a place to meet or hold events in our town so this would definitely be of benefit.  It would also create a better place for our Senior Citizens to hold their weekly meeting. As we discuss our plans, we continue to be thoughtful of the importance the school building held in our community for many years. The school was our community.  Among the citizens there are items from the school, such as the American Flag and the bell, which will be incorporated in the new building.  The Genoa Wolves will have a presence in the community once again.         

 So what are you up against or are you celebrating a success?

 http://www.coloradobrownfieldsfoundation.org