SALAMANCA — The city of Salamanca is looking to demolish six city-owned properties this summer if they are not purchased during the property auction scheduled for June 23.
The Common Council last week authorized city engineer Daniel Kruez, project manager for Urban Engineers, to prepare specifications and plans for the blight removal of certain dilapidated city-owned buildings.
Mayor Michael Smith said he’s been in contact with Kruez on preparing the paperwork for making the demolitions happen before it’s too late in the summer construction season.
“We’ve budgeted the money. It’s in there,” he said. The council budgeted $250,000 for the demolitions. Smith said Kruez’s estimate for all six properties was about $249,000.
The lots are included in the city’s list of 14 properties to be auctioned off in June. Officials said any of them are purchased at the minimum of three-years worth of back taxes, they would no longer be the city’s property and they would not be demolished this summer.
Several Common Council members said it would save the city money because the properties would have their due taxes paid and they would no longer be the city’s responsibility to maintain. A demolition could cost about $40,000.
“If they don’t sell at the auction, we can start rolling on June 24,” Mayor Smith said.
IN OTHER NEWS, the council authorized Kruez to prepare the specifications and plans for the Main Street mill and overlay project, estimated at approximately $261,000.
“This is just a preliminary estimate,” said Rob Carpenter, superintendent of the Department of Public Works. He said Kruez told him the project would not go over $300,000.
“We’re not going to know for sure until after we bid it out,” Carpenter added. “I think it would be a great thing to do for Main Street.”
Mayor Smith said the project would use nearly all of the city’s Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPs) funds from New York state, about $290,000.
Besides repaving all of Main Street from the Clinton and Broad streets intersection to Rochester Street, Carpenter said the project would include widening part of the road between Wildwood and Maple streets for restriping diagonal parking in front of the Salamanca Mall.
“There still has to be some utilities work done with the light poles and electrical ground work, but we’ll get with the Board of Public Utilities on that,” he said.
ALSO OF NOTE, the DPW received one bid for the project to rebuild the crumbling concrete stairs at Jefferson Street Park for about $29,000.
Carpenter said although the original estimate for the project was about $25,000, he said having the project finished and making the steps safe again is worth the $4,000. The council agreed.
“I talked to Dan (Kruez) again today and he said these guys are ready to start as soon as well let them,” he added.
The DPW chained off the steps in early winter 2017 and Carpenter said they haven’t had issues with people walking on them anyway.
(Contact editor Kellen Quigley at kquigleysp@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter, @Kellen _Quigley)
