Mooresville building owner reaches agreement with town to have structure demolished
MOORESVILLE — The owner of the dilapidated structure at 1 E. Main St. has signed an agreement with the town of Mooresville allowing the municipality to put the building up for demolition if the property owner does not have the structure demolished in the next 30 days.
Representatives from Finmar Properties, which purchased the crumbling building at 1 and 3 E. Main St. for $30,000 several months after it was damaged in an EF-1 tornado, signed the agreement with the town this week, Dave Moore, Mooresville's public works superintendent, told Mooresville Town Council during its Tuesday meeting.
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If the unsafe building is not torn down within the next 30 days, then the town can solicit contractors to demolish the structure, Moore said.
In December, Finmar Properties applied for and received a demolition permit for the property in December and said it was hiring LaFary Group to carry out the demolition.
Since then, however, the two parties have reached an impasse, according to Moore.
"They're still knotted up with LaFary on a contract," Moore said. "It's really ugly and messy."
The new agreement paves the way for the town to take action should the two parties fail to reach a consensus.
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Debt reduction
During Tuesday's town council meeting, members approved a debt reduction proposal put forth by Council President Tom Warthen.
The town is currently making payments on two fire trucks that were purchased in 2019 and new dispatch equipment that was bought when the police department moved into its new headquarters on South Indiana Street.
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Paying down the rest of those debts now will cost about $1.7 million, Warthen said.
The town has a general fund budget of about $5.3 million, with an estimated $4.7 million in cash reserves by the end of 2022, he said.
Councilmembers approved taking cash on hand to pay off the debt.
The council also voted unanimously to move $535,000 out of cash reserves into its rainy day fund, bringing the total balance of that account to $864,000.
In other business
The council agreed to purchase cyber security liability insurance from Hadley, Cook and Quillen Insurance. The annual cost is $1,304.
Mooresville Interim Police Chief Brock Chipman reported 174 incidents in April, including 49 arrests, four batteries, five disturbances, seven driving while suspended, nine theft reports and 34 car accidents.
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A new pool heater has been installed at the Mooresville Family Aquatic Center in Pioneer Park, and a covered bridge at the park that was recently damaged will be replaced in July, Parks Superintendent Kris Wilson said. The pool and zipline open Saturday, May 21.
The council approved claims in the amount of $627,181.66.
The next meeting of Mooresville Town Council is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on June 7 at the Mooresville Government Center, 4 E. Harrison St., Mooresville.
Contact reporter Peter Blanchard at 765-346-2942 or pblanchard@reporter-times.com. Follow him on Twitter @peterlblanchard.
This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Mooresville tornado-damaged building could be demolished by summer
