Blighted building in Tecumseh where hazardous materials were found to be torn down

TECUMSEH — A former plating shop in Tecumseh where hazardous materials were found will be torn down.

On Monday, the Tecumseh City Council voted to hire a contractor to demolish the former Spectron Industries Inc. building at 317 S. Ottawa St. The decision caps a seven-year effort to address the poor condition of the building, including an order signed in January 2022 by Lenawee County Circuit Judge Anna Marie Anzalone.

The order gave the building owner 30 days to tear the building down, or the city would do it and assess the owner the cost.

When the building wasn't torn down, the city inspected before proceeding with demolition and found several containers of chemicals and hazardous materials, City Manager Dan Swallow told councilmembers. When it became clear the property owner didn't have the financial resources to remove the materials, the city contacted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for assistance.

The EPA ended up spending more than $300,000 to assess and remove the materials, which included cadmium, chromium, cyanide, lead and silver in solid and liquid form stored within various containers such as 55-gallon drums, 30-gallon containers, two 400-gallon vats and various small containers, according to an EPA memorandum from June 2023 requesting approval to spend up to $743,000 to remove the materials.

The city began trying to address the building's condition after a fire there in March 2017.

Van Ert's of Adrian had the lowest of six bids to tear down the building at $43,800. The highest was $212,000, with the bids between ranging from $79,000 to $85,783. Swallow and Building Services Director Ed Engle told councilmembers part of Van Ert's bid included salvaging valuable metals, such as copper, and even the brick from the building.

Councilmember Brent Gnodtke was the only vote against hiring Van Ert's. He questioned the lack of a schedule to have the work completed and the lack of a bid bond requirement.

"I just don't want to see something where that salvage process may take a year," he said.

Engle said Van Ert's can start by the end of May and will likely be finished by the end of July. He said they do a wide range of work, including landscaping, construction, snow removal and building demolition. He said they've done demolition work as part of Adrian's blight removal projects.

"This might be his biggest demo, but I don't think it's out of his range," Engle said.

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Swallow said the city requires bid bonds for projects larger than this, such as the current maintenance work on the city's water tower.

"We do anticipate entering into a written agreement, we have a draft of that, with Van Ert. We can include some of these additional items," Swallow said. "Hopefully, they'd be willing to accept that."

Mayor Jack Baker said Van Ert's gave the city a good price.

The building, including the foundation, is to be removed, Swallow said in response to a question from councilmember Ron Wimple. The city will do a pre-backfill inspection before the site is covered with backfill, grass seed and mulch.

— Contact reporter David Panian at dpanian@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @lenaweepanian.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Blighted building in Tecumseh to be torn down