The remaining structures that did not get demolished before Infinity Enterprises backed out of their commitment to clear the former Nestles site at no cost to the city.
FULTON, NY – The Fulton Common Council unanimously approved a $3.5 million bond resolution for the demolition of various city owned properties.
It’s anticipated that the majority of the bond total will be expended on the ongoing demolition at the former Nestle site following new information from the Department of Labor.
City officials just learned that they are required to clear all debris from the Nestle site in its entirety before they can continue demolition to remaining structures.
Several piles of debris on the 24-acre site were left when initial contractor, Infinity Enterprises abandoned the project after taking down 75 percent of the buildings on site.
In May, a Fulton based contractor, Rowlee Construction, was awarded the project to remove debris from the 2.2- acre parcel of the site on the corner of Fay and South Fourth streets intended for incoming supermarket chain, Aldi.
Rowlee began working at the end of May with a pay cap of $100,000 before needing additional council approval.
The council unanimously approved the expenditure of an additional $100,000 when Rowlee reached the initial cap after just over a week of work.
City officials bonded for $700,000 in March for the demolition of various city owned properties, of which city officials were able to use the money on debris removal at the former Nestle site.
Additionally, yesterday (June 15) the council unanimously approved a bond resolution for the maximum amount of $3.5 million for the demolition of various city owned properties.
A portion of the bond includes the removal of the Sharps Pond Dam on the east side of the city after the Department of Environmental Conservation recently required the city to take action within the year.
However, the majority of the money is anticipated to be spent at the former Nestle site.
Due to the remaining asbestos on the site and the close proximity to the Kiwanis Kid Haven, the city is deeming the situation to be an urgent matter and is talking with attorneys regarding options to move forward.
Though not yet confirmed, city officials are leaning toward continuing work with Rowlee to remove the remaining debris in order to clear the site in the most urgent fashion possible.
The 2.2-acre site designated to Aldi is nearly ready for the contractor hired by Aldi to construct the store, National Contracting, to begin prep work for the site.
Fulton Mayor Ronald Woodward Sr. said that the cost for National Contracting to prep the site will be taken off the sale price of the property, an estimated $250,000.
An amended contract between the city of Fulton and Aldi previously removed $100,000 off the sale price for the unexpected purchase of pilings.
City officials say the ten-year bond has a five-year time frame to pay down as much as possible before going to permanent financing.
“Let’s say we get in there and get that cleaned up and another outlet comes along and we get $200,000 out of the property, we can take that and put it toward the bond and so on and so forth,” Woodward explained.
Initially, bids received for the demolition project in 2015 alongside Infinity Enterprises came in at just over $2 million not including prevailing wages and more than $3 million with prevailing wages.
Mayor Woodward said that in hindsight, those bids would have been merely starting points.
“It’s not that easy,” he said. “They bid that on the asbestos survey we provided. They found double that amount of asbestos. So, what they would have been doing here is asking for change orders. I’m not sure that bid even included tipping fees either.”
As per the contract with Aldi, the city will have 90 days to remove “Building 2” on the site, the main building that lines State Route 481, which will remain priority in the demolition process.
Despite setbacks in contract deadlines and the abandonment of the initial contractor, Aldi has remained undeterred in their desire to open a new store location at this site in Fulton.
“I think everybody will breath a sigh of relief when they see that store there. Plus, once that whole site is cleared, you’re going to have a lot more interest there,” Woodward said.
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There is smart Bonding and there is unnecessary Bonding. This is an example of SMART BONDING. It should have been done two years ago. It didn’t but it is now so let’s get the show on the road. A thank you goes out to the Mayor and the Common Council for taking a big step in the right direction.
It doesn’t seem that the $3.5M will ever be recovered, even in the most optimistic scenario. Of course Aldi is going forward because they are getting the land for free after the offsets.
If Fulton is to survive, there needs to be a plan to provide jobs.
wow nice glad to see the ship is sinking,but the problem being is most fish learn how to swim right out of the gate,hope to see the carp at least make it out of the lake,im thinking the old saying, when you play in fire you get burned,at what cost to the tax payers will this come?which store will close first,after aldis ?any chance of building a fancy r.v.park over there at nestles,so many familys can camp and talk about the memorys there,no need for swimming,cant swim in this city any where,just a thought….
So.. they could have had the entire project done for 3 million. Instead, you make a company lose millions, and then pay Rowlees 3 million to do 25% of the job?
And the wonder why people are moveing the hell out of fulton and n,y, state
City officials say just learned that they are required to clear all debris from the Nestle site… how stupid do they think we are? The mayor is going to spend every tax dollar available to bring in Aldi’s, so they can hire people at minimum wage and compete against the stores that actually pay taxes, brilliant! Fulton is truly is a city with a future.
As a neighbor of the worksite I am deeply concerned given the quote “Due to the remaining asbestos on the site and the close proximity to the Kiwanis Kid Haven, the city is deeming the situation to be an urgent matter and is talking with attorneys regarding options to move forward.”. The Ballpark is frequented a few months a year and by kids a few hours a week…I live here 24/7. How dangerous is this? How long have my neighbors and I been exposed to a dangerous asbestos situation? What precautions have been made to protect our safety over the past 2 years 24/7? Where was the communication about this “urgent situation” prior to now?
make the people on social services and who get any state or federal help work for what they receive at min.wage. cleaning up Nestles .
Two predictions taxes are going up again, which means people lose their homes and they end up as tipping fees at the dump! Also a plume of chemicals will be found under the soil spreading through ground waters! Good luck with that !
We the taxpayer want a statement dollar for dollar telling us, who got what, how much, and what for after all its our money
Good luck with that Ken. We are still waiting for the truth about been Benghazi. Do you truly believe will ever know the truth about the back room shenanigans regarding the Nestlé’s debacle and the mayor’s superduper plan to recoup significant pay down on the bond Balance within five years? You can bet that bond balance will be 3m+ in 2022. I’m sure every body recalls the mayors youthful optimism about what a great seal the city was getting with infinity enterprises. I am also sure everyone is well aware of the fiscal blunder that resulted. As others have mentioned, the only way to pay that and other expenses on the horizon is to wring some more blood out of taxpayers. At what point does City government realize they cannot tax their way out of debt or into prosperity?