Warehouse declared dangerous building

    After nearly a half hour of discussion, the Washington City Council declared the three-story warehouse located at 604 North Seventh Avenue a dangerous building at its regular meeting Wednesday night. The city will post ?Dangerous Building? signs at the premises and construct a fence around the property.

    City Administrator Dave Plyman reported to the council that the building, which was built in 1900, has many windows broken and that it has been exposed to the elements for at least two decades. He said there are significant cracks that are visible on the outside and that many bricks are popping out of place. 

    ?There is extensive cracking on the outside of the building, which would lead people to believe the building is unsafe,? said Plyman. ?I?ve been told that the building is even unsafe to enter.?

    The decision came after the council heard from the building?s owner, Larry Raid, who argued the structure was in much better condition than what had been reported to the council. Raid said that he believed the building could be restored. Raid appeared before the council in April 2005, at which time he said he would work to refurbish the structure.

    ?The stabilization of the building is not as bad as what you mentioned,? said Raid, referring to Plyman?s depiction of the building. ?It isn?t like it?s falling down from the outside. There are a lot of things that can be done with those old buildings. I?ve had one couple who wanted to start a dance hall on that second floor because of that beautiful hardwood floor.? 

    Raid said he visits the building ?regularly? and that he continues to use it as a warehouse.

    ?I will not tear the building down at the present time because I am using it for a warehouse, and I want to continue to use it for a warehouse,? said Raid. ?I have over 100 line casting machines and 186 printing presses. There are machines in that building that don?t exist anywhere else in the whole world.?

    At the same time, Raid told the council that he has not made many repairs to the building in recent years.

     ?There?s a lot of work that needs to be done on the inside, and I can do it,? said Raid. ?I agree I haven?t done much work up there, but when I?m not welcome by the police, by the city, by your helpers, I don?t want to do much work up there,? said Raid.

    Raid said the building has experienced its fair share of vandalism. He said the windows of the building are routinely broken, that someone had gained entry to the building and spray painted the inside of it. Raid also said his locks have been super-glued four times.

    City Attorney Craig Arbuckle commented, ?I can?t imagine that anyone would expect an unoccupied structure not to have problems. And not just in Washington, but anywhere.?

     Police chief Greg Goodman addressed the council and stated that he considers the building a danger.

    ?I have concerns about the safety of the building because of the broken-out windows and the cracks in the front,? said Goodman. ?I?m afraid that if something doesn?t get done, we?re going to end up with a rescue operation similar to what we had on the square a couple years ago.?

For the full story, see the Nov. 5 edition of The Washington Evening Journal