Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
The Shawano Redevelopment Authority on Thursday granted the Samanta Roy Institute of Science and Technology more time to provide plans to raze or repair two dilapidated downtown buildings.
The RDA seemed poised to move to condemnation proceedings for at least one of the vacant properties at 214 S. Main St., which has been sitting idle since at least 2005, when SIST was granted a building permit for improvements that were apparently never made.
The board then heard comments from SIST representative Darlene Sense, who accused the city of interfering with its remodeling plans.
She claimed there had either been some confusion or “others that interfered with this.”
SIST had previously sent a letter to the city saying their plans were to repair the building and sell it, and called on the city to “quit playing games with us.”
The city recently denied SIST a building permit for repairs to the building because of the plan lacked details.
“The building permit was denied because the city requested full plans for putting the building back into use, not just plans to address one minor issue where there’s many issues that have been identified,” Assistant City Administrator Eddie Sheppard said.
Zoning Administrator Brian Bunke said the city has still not seen the required state approval of SIST’s plans.
“We’re still waiting for a state-approved plan at this point,” he said. “Nothing has been received from the state on any plans that have been submitted.”
City Administrator Brian Knapp said the city did interfere with SIST’s plans, but, he said, for good reason.
“Certainly we interfered.” he said. “We interfered because you’re going about putting on a Band-Aid with no basis to believe it was safe, that it was structurally sound, that it would allow people to people to use that building in the future without potential danger. And without that assurance we’re not going to let you move forward with repairs on a building.”
The city conducted a court-ordered inspection of the property last year that showed it was a health and safety hazard and was structurally unsound.
Sense accused city officials of already having their minds made up.
“Obviously, the whole plan this whole time is you want the building,” she said.
Some members bristled at that allegation and said they were willing to provide SIST with additional time to present a plan.
RDA member Dave Kerber said that plan has to be more detailed than a vague promise to fix up the building and sell it.
“When I see a building permit taken out in 2005 and a building sit vacant for that long a time, that is not a plan,” he said.
SIST was given 30 days to show that it had hired an engineering or architectural firm to develop the plans, proof that those plans have been submitted to the state, an appraisal of the property and engineering estimates for restoration of the entire structure, SIST’s intentions for the building after it has been renovated, a timeline for moving forward with the reconstruction, and proof of financing showing that SIST can afford to do what it says it will do.
Sheppard estimated it could take $300,000 to $400,000 to make the property usable again, far above the building’s property value.
Thirty days after that initial deadline, SIST will have to show the RDA the full, state-approved plan, which would include how SIST intends to make the building habitable and would cover any lighting, electrical, plumbing, heating and construction work that needs to be done.
The RDA also gave SIST 60 days to come up with plans for its vacant property at 143 S. Main St., which is also considered blighted but not in as bad a shape as 214 S. Main St.
Kerber said the community has been waiting for action on these and other properties.
“The community is realizing that some of this has to move along,” he said. “There’s been inaction for 12 years.”
RDA member Katherine Sloma said there are a number of properties on the RDA priority list, but the SIST property at 214 S. Main St. is at the top of the list.
“This is the one that’s going to fall down,” she said. “This is the health and safety big issue right now.”