City to spend more to demolish former Jaycee Hall

The Galt City Council on Dec. 17 approved $18,000 in additional funding to put toward the demolition of the former Jaycee Hall at 405 Fifth St.

The contractor hired to do the work discovered lead-based paint on the exterior walls of the building. Galt Public Works Director Steven Winkler said the paint, hidden under the vinyl siding, requires special handling and disposing at a hazardous waste facility.

Winkler said the contractor will handle all of that work and cap expenses for dealing with the lead paint at $16,500.

The city earlier this year paid nearly $1,600 for a visual inspection.

We did not require that they do any destructive investigation in what might lie under the wall boards, within the floors, et cetera, Winkler said.

He added that it would have been advantageous for the city to spend more up front to better determine the actual cost to raze the building.

What irritates me the most about this is, if you have lead-based paint on the inside, youve got a pretty good chance its on the outside, Council Member Mark Crews said. They should have thought about that.

Council Member Curt Campion said none of the alternatives, which included stopping demolition and rebidding the work, looked good to him.

The council in March agreed to spend up to $20,000 to demolish the building but retain ownership of the land.

Winkler said at the March meeting that the building has major issues, including inadequate roof support and substandard plumbing and electrical, and needs extensive renovation of the kitchen and bathrooms.

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City to spend more to demolish former Jaycee Hall