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WILKES-BARRE — With the help of water sprayed from a hose hooked to a tanker truck, the dust settled Tuesday morning from the debris of the emergency demolition of five row houses.
An employee of Stell Enterprises Inc. wet down the mess of brick, plaster and wood that crashed to the ground as the operator of an excavator pulled apart the interconnected sections of the dilapidated structure stretching from 318 to 326 N. Main St.
The city Friday condemned the properties in danger of collapse and sought bids for the demolition. The out-of-town owner will be asked to pay the $57,000 – the low bid submitted by Stell, of Plains Township – it cost to raze the properties he started renovating and have been vacant for more than 10 years.
Wilkes-Barre City Administrator Ted Wampole said he assumes the city will file a lien against owner Kenneth B. Haas, of New Rochelle, New York, for the demolition costs. City officials said they have been in contact with Haas.
In the meantime, Wampole said, general fund money will be used to cover the demolition costs. Usually, the city designates Office of Community Development funds for planned demolitions, but this case was different and had to be handled immediately, he explained.
“We had no choice,” Wampole said.
As he did last week when he watched city officials string emergency tape across the sidewalk in front of the two-story row houses to keep the public away, Rafael Barreto looked on from his porch across the street as the excavator operator worked methodically from top to bottom and drove the tracked-machine farther into rubble.
“It’s going to be an eyesore gone, I guess,” Barreto said.