Town Meeting members on Wednesday ended the Annual Town Meeting by delaying a decision on the controversial demolition delay bylaw until September.

Article 21, which sought to amend the towns demolition delay bylaw, was dismissed due to the fact that so many Town Meeting members proposed changes or amendments to the article, Board of Selectmen Chairman Mark Paolillo said. The article will be debated at a fall Town Meeting session in September, he said.

Its a mess, Paolillo said while arguing the article should be dismissed. We would be here forever debating this article.

The article, co-sponsored by the Historic District Commission (HDC) and the Planning Board, sought to offer demolition protection to more than 200 Belmont properties. In its original form, the bylaw proposed demolition delay periods of six months for residential buildings and 12 months for commercial buildings.

But so many competing motions and amendments were filed that the Selectmen and Town Moderator Mike Widmer recommended dismissal.

I think that would have been totally, monumentally unfair to [Town Meeting members] to vote on the article, Widmer said.

Both the HDC and Planning Board suggested recommended voting against dismissal and then discussing the issue at a Town Meeting session on June 12 or June 19. Representatives from both committees argued that passing some form of a demolition delay bylaw would offer interim protection against the demolition of historic buildings, and that the involved parties could debate the issue and change the article at a later date.

Michael Smith, co-chairman of the HDC, said he was disappointed by the way debate about the article played out.

Belmont has a record of historic preservation that is better than this, he said.

Originally posted here:
Demolition delay bylaw article dismissed

Mark Fazlollah, Inga Saffron, Dylan Purcell, and Paul Nussbaum, Inquirer Staff Writers Posted: Wednesday, June 5, 2013, 3:19 PM

The contractor hired to demolish the building at 2136-38 Market St. has a criminal record stemming from a phony car-wreck scheme with a Philadelphia police officer, according to court records.

And his demolition work next to a Salvation Army thrift shop worried neighbors, workers, and others in the days before Wednesday's fatal collapse, because an adjoining wall was left unsupported.

The demolition was being done by Griffin Campbell Construction of 1605 Butler St. That North Philadelphia address is also the residence of Griffin T. Campbell, 49, who could not be reached for comment.

Campbell has city permits to demolish six other properties, including three Market Street properties owned by STB Investments Corp., the owner of the collapsed building. The principal of STB is Richard Basciano, owner of many seedy properties and once dubbed "the undisputed king of Times Square porn."

According to court records, Campbell filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection in March, listing $221,000 in liabilities, including $10,000 in unpaid city business taxes and delinquent state and federal taxes, as well as numerous bank liens on properties he owns in North Philadelphia.

Campbell's residence is a nondescript rowhouse in North Philadelphia. A woman who answered the door declined to comment and then locked the door. The home had a tidy porch with a tricycle and a broom on it. Neighbors also declined to talk.

Campbell pleaded guilty in April 2009 to having filed a false insurance claim, claiming to be a passenger in a car involved in a 2005 auto collision that was actually a hoax to defraud an insurance company.

After filing the false claim, Campbell was paid $17,500 by Cambridge Insurance Co., plus $5,856 for medical bills. The scam unraveled when a Philadelphia officer, Deshane Riggins, admitted preparing "numerous fictitious accident reports" and identified Campbell's as one of them.

Read more here:
Demolition contractor has criminal record

Demolition begins for new IKEA in Merriam
Demolition work begins Wednesday for the new IKEA store in Merriam, Kansas.

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Demolition begins for new IKEA in Merriam - Video

Amazing Fireworks At Building Demolition

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Amazing Fireworks At Building Demolition - Video

tower demolition / construction
work.

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tower demolition / construction - Video

Demolition Derby May 19th

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Demolition Derby May 19th - Video

2013 St Claude Demolition Derby Small Car Heat 2
a chain and bang stock derby ,

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2013 St Claude Demolition Derby Small Car Heat 2 - Video

By Greg Gullberg June 04, 2013

Remerton, GA - A pile of brick and lumber. The steel claws of cranes tear down the Strickland Cotton Mill in Lowndes County, more commonly known as the Remerton Mill. It's the last remaining textile mill in South Georgia.

"Well it breaks my heart and it's so sad and I don't understand why anyone would want a historic old building torn down like this," said Nina King.

King was raised in Remerton, and her father and brother worked in the mill. A demolition request came up in 2012, that's when she helped start a campaign to save it.

"We held meetings and we had people come testify as to what the mill meant to them. And we worked really hard," King said.

"It could have been something like The Riverwalk in Columbus which was built on old mills. Or it could have been like the Old Cotton Exchange in Savannah. But no, they're tearing it down," said John Quarterman, a concerned Lowndes resident.

The mill has been closed for almost a decade. The owner couldn't afford renovations and the city couldn't afford to take it. Now only the smoke stack will remain.

"There are a lot of other people who are very sad and upset about it too. But we don't have the means to buy it and preserve it. So that's the way it goes," said King.

Eyewitness News tried calling the owner, Joe Tillman. Our calls were not returned.

The demolition will take several days.

See the article here:
Demolition Of Remerton Mill Has Begun

June 4, 2013 Updated Jun 4, 2013 at 6:46 PM PDT

The Del Monte name has been standing in Kingsburg for more than 100 years. But demolition crews are tearing it down piece by piece, steel beam by steel beam.

The machines split the beams like twigs. It's amazing to watch but tough for people like Otilia Ramos, "Kingsburg is known for Del Monte... it's like they took a big part out of our - the story of our town."

She worked at the plant for 13 years. It was her first job and helped her pay for college, "The work was hard but it showed you the meaning of money and you looked forward to those three months," Ramos said.

It isn't just a demolition. It's the beginning of a transformation from vacant buildings to a church with soccer fields and a gymnasium.

David Morris, a pastor with Grace Church of the Valley said, "We want to make this place a pretty place for Kingsburg."

The church is behind the ambitious project. Morris says it'll take four months to clear the rubble and roughly three years to rebuild.

Morris said, "This spot has served the community a lot with jobs and we want to serve the community with our message of redemption through Jesus."

When the walls are destroyed and the concrete is reduced to dust, the Del Monte name will still stand in the hearts and memories of the people in this town.

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Demolition Begins on Historic Del Monte Plant

A Jacksonville councilwoman says she may seek subpoenas to get answers from city officials about a decision to demolish the garage of a woman feuding with the city.

The concrete-block garage was torn down as an unsafe structure April 15 while owner Duchee Stevens and Councilwoman Kimberly Daniels watched. That was after a demolition contractor told Daniels city officials had instructed him to call the police when she showed up, the councilwoman said.

Daniels said she has tried to meet with code-enforcement chief Kimberly Scott and Scotts boss, Neighborhoods Director Terrance Ashanta-Barker, but has been told too often that they arent available. Issuing subpoenas would prod officials to make themselves available, and to ensure they discussed subjects truthfully, Daniels told members of the council Public Health and Safety Committee.

It is possible it was a waste of taxpayers funds, Daniels said about the demolition, saying the block building seemed solid.

Ashanta-Barker said Tuesday that he and Scott had offered to meet as early as Wednesday morning, but hadnt had a response. By email, he said there have not been repeated attempts by ... Daniels to set up meetings with me, and that the first time he was asked about meeting was May 30.

The building, which was detached from Stevens house, had a roof that had deteriorated badly, and Stevens said a condemnation notice had been left on a fence around her property in March 2011.

Stevens has argued the garage did not need to be torn down, saying the decayed roof hadnt affected the block walls. There wasnt anything wrong with the block. There was just something wrong with the wood [roof], she said.

City records show that a contractor started to reroof the property in 2005, but failed a building inspection, after which the records are silent. Stevens, who is disabled, said the roofer was hired by a nonprofit that the city paid to renovate homes belonging to low-income people and senior citizens.

She has frequently addressed the City Council about her efforts to get problems at the property resolved, and has also talked to council members individually.

Daniels said she had asked Scott about the condemnation notice, and left thinking Scott bore ill will toward Stevens because of her earlier dispute with the city.

Link:
Councilwoman Kimberly Daniels eyes subpoenas over city demolition