Steve Mensing, Editor and RFP Staff
♦Big Trouble in little Salisbury. Most everyone is aware of city hall’s rush to get the Downtown Central Office built at 329 S. Main. Quite reminiscent of the Weapons of Mass Destruction push and the Fibrant misadventure foisted on Salisbury, this hard sell is now coming under the scrutiny of the Local Government Commission in Raleigh. No doubt they will examine architectural prints and a “project book”, designed exclusively to be a Central Office building and not a “commercial building” as the city now claims in order to slip this building by the guardian eye of the Local Government Commission. Too much documentation already substantiates the Taj Mahal is none other that a School Administration building that our county commissioners so sagely rejected for the good of the school system and for the county.
Over the last several weeks some large ticket items were brought to the Rowan Free Press’s attention that needed to be placed before the public eye. The city and the school board in their frantic rush to shove this downtown central office down the taxpayer’s throats kept some very important facts out of view. These facts could substantially raise the future price of the Taj Mahal on South Main, palm a building on an apparently still contaminated property off on the schools and the taxpayers and perhaps construct a structurally unsound building. Let’s consider:
• It was recently uncovered, in 329 S. Main environmental studies, the water table here is a mere 12 feet to 19 feet from the grade or top most infill. The water table can change levels due to season and rain. This is a major and very expensive concern for construction on loose infill. In fact many builders would not choose to build weighty 3 story buildings on such unstable property. A one story construction is not much of a challenge, but a weighty building, such as the proposed 3 floor Taj Mahal, would no doubt develop structural cracks and defects due to the changing water table and the loose infill. In order to build on this property, major structural adjustments will add to the cost of building on infill and above a shifting water table. Likely millions of dollars more. Keep in mind: A three story building being constructed on 30 feet of backfill on a parcel of land where the water table is between 12 and 19 feet below the grade is extremely risky.
• As of yet the property at 329 S. Main has not received the very important “No Further Action” letter from NC DENR required by legitimate lenders. This letter assures the lender the property is free of environmental hazards such as groundwater contaminants. Recently water was being pumped out of the monitoring well at 329 S. Main and the stench of petroleum vapor was quite strong. Know that groundwater contamination can migrate thousands of yards from the site. Buildings elsewhere can be in danger of vapor intrusion from the migrating petroleum plume from 329 S. Main. There are grave problems with site contamination especially if it drifts in the water table. Just yesterday, KMD Construction, at the Integro project, hit a smelly “plume” of underground hydrocarbons–likely drifted over from 329 S. Main. It was reported to NC DENR.
While the city received a “I have no problems with development on the site” letter from Dan Graham at NC DENR’s Mooresville office, even though the abatement process was conducted without a comprehensive Site Analysis, the letter from NC DENR is in no way an adequate substitute for a “No Further Action” Letter. Also know the Limited Site Assessment found high levels of Benzene and another toxic chemical being abated. Yet they didn’t go back to do a Comprehensive Site Analysis, to detect high levels of kerosene and fuel oil. While not in the very toxic category, underground plumes of hydrocarbons can migrate to the top of the water table (as much as 12 feet below the surface) This can result in petroleum-based vapor intrusion in area buildings. It might also create challenges for 329 S. Main structure if settling occurs that damages whatever construction engineers put in place to block vapor intrusion. A large question is: Did they plan enough to block vapor intrusion?
And with drifting petroleum plumes that migrate, many persons, in a wide area around 329 S. Main, may have been subjected to toxic vapor intrusion for decades with the water table so close to the surface.
Vapor intrusion is something NC DENR is dealing with at a Buncombe County school site. Read about it here: http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wm/sf/ihshome/squared
More importantly our states Local Government Commission (LGC) is in place to protect cities and counties and their taxpayers from local government abuses. The LGC is well steeped in state statutes and they tightly guard them. No doubt the LGC is aware when a city government attempts to put one over on them. It doesn’t take a Sherlock Holmes to recognize the building proposed for 329 S. Main was designed specifically to be school administration building and was called such for well over a year. Calling it a commercial building instead of what it is: a school administration building may pass muster with the easily bamboozled. But most folks who enjoy dining at realty’s table, see the unsubtle difference between a school administration building and a true commercial building. The label change will not likely keep the LGC from drawing a fat black X across the city’s attempt to circumvent state law. The lease, while not subject to the LGC’s okay, could serve as more supportive evidence of the city’s scheme to avoid our state statutes. A 35 month lease shouts loud and clear that the states statues are getting a fast shuffle.
For further reading:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2E5Ew6OLdElOWdUVkhPaFY0cHM/edit?pli=1
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2E5Ew6OLdElaE5tTVRUZURsc2c/edit?pli=1
The proposed lease between the City of Salisbury and the Rowan-Salisbury Schools for the Downtown Central Office at 329 S. Main St.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2E5Ew6OLdElQXJpRjRGQTBqLUk/edit?pli=1
