SPECIAL COUNCIL VDBO

SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING A Special Council Meeting was held on November 7, 2022, at 5:17 p.m. with Council President Sudler presiding. Council members present were Mr. Anderson, Mr. Boggerty, Mr. Neil, Dr. Pillsbury, Ms. Arndt, Mr. Rocha, Mr. Taylor, and Mr. Hare. Mayor Christiansen was also present. Council staff members present were Mr. Hugg, Ms. Engle, and Ms. Rivera. Other staff members present were Ms. Gray and Mr. Kopp. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Mr. Neil moved for adoption of the agenda, seconded by Dr. Pillsbury and unanimously carried. Evaluation of Bids – Demolition of Property at 235-239 West Loockerman Street, owned by SAG Holdings, LLC Mr. Eddie Kopp, Chief Code Enforcement Officer, reviewed the background and analysis of the evaluation of bids regarding the demolition of 235-239 West Loockerman Street. Staff recommended: awarding the contract for the demolition of 235-239 West Loockerman to Design Contracting. Responding to Ms. Arndt, Mr. Kopp stated that the Code Enforcement Office received four bids and decided to award the contract to the second-lowest bidder. Mr. Kopp explained that the lowest bidder did not submit a bid bond to secure the bid which was a requirement of the bid. Mr. Kopp stated that the city has not used Design Contracting however, they did just complete all the State of Delaware buildings that were demolished on South Governors Avenue. Mr. Kopp noted Design Contracting is a minority contractor. Responding to Mr. Neil, Mr. Kopp stated that if this bid is awarded tonight, they will be reaching out tomorrow morning to all parties involved. Mr. Kopp explained that this process is a little bit different than the regular demolition, as the asbestos contractors will take point on this until all asbestos is removed. Mr. Kopp further explained that they have already hired an asbestos contractor, but the asbestos contractor decides what is demolished and how they will oversee the site until all asbestos is removed. Mr. Kopp stated that they will schedule an onsite meeting with the asbestos inspectors, asbestos removal contractors, and construction contractors. Mr. Kopp stated that way all parties can be involved, all questions can be answered, and a plan can be put in place. Mr. Kopp noted that they plan to start demolition as quickly as possible before the cold weather sets in because they are concerned about every floor in the building that is soaking wet. Mr. Kopp further explained that

SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 7, 2022 PAGE 2 they are concerned with the ice setting in and spreading the floor joists more than they already are, which could lead to more catastrophic problems. Responding to Mr. Boggerty, Mr. Kopp stated that he is unaware of the classification of a minority. Mr. Kopp explained to keep the integrity of the bid process his office has not contacted any contractor since the bids closed. Responding to Mr. Sudler, Mr. Kopp stated that Design Contracting is bonded and licensed. Responding to Mr. Sudler, Mr. Kopp stated that in speaking to them on the phone before the bid was released, he did give some examples in Wilmington where they took rather large buildings to the ground. Mr. Kopp stated that he told everyone that he spoke to before the bid went out, that this is a very big building, it is very deep and encouraged them to go on-site before submitting a bid. Mr. Kopp explained that only one contractor toured the building but that they did not bid on the project. Responding to Mr. Sudler, Mr. Kopp stated that the bond was a requirement of the bid and was listed in the bid packet. Responding to Mr. Taylor, Mr. Kopp stated that he was correct in that the asbestos contractor would be taking point on the demolition and that is why it is a two-phase project. Mr. Kopp explained that by regulation, they oversee the site until all asbestos is removed. Mr. Kopp further explained that anything that is suspected of asbestos will go in a certain area and then the asbestos contractors can dig through. Mr. Kopp noted that the asbestos contractor will not be doing the demolition. Responding to Mayor Christiansen, Mr. Kopp stated that it was placed in the bid and the contractor is required to reach out to the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) because Loockerman is a state-maintained road and the Dover Police Department as New Street is a city- maintained road for road closures and to handle traffic conditions. Responding to Mayor Christiansen, Mr. Hugg stated that he believes the city could attach the cost of the demolition to the taxes in an expedited monition sale. Mr. Hugg stated that however, the process has been to attach the cost to a lien, and then when the property is sold the city would recoup the money. Mr. Sudler requested Mr. Hugg to report back to Council if there is a way to attach the cost of demolition to taxes of the property. Responding to Mr. Hare, Mr. Hugg stated that the unless the city takes the property to an advanced monition sale then they could sit on the property for however long until the property is sold.

SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 7, 2022 PAGE 3 Responding to Mr. Taylor, Mr. Hugg stated that there is not a specific amount of time the city must wait however if the property does not sell after some time the city could take the property to a monition sale, buy the property, and write off the liability and sell the property to recoup some of the demolition cost. Responding to Mr. Taylor, Mr. Hare stated that in the 1990s, there were properties the city placed a lien on, and the lien was more than the property was worth. Mr. Hare stated that after a certain amount of time when the owner did not pay the liens, the city was able to purchase the property for $1.00. Mr. Hare explained that then it is up to Council how much they would want to sell the property for. Responding to Mr. Taylor, Mr. Anderson stated that in the past the city has obtained properties, then sold them to Downtown Dover Partnership (DDP) and other entities to get economic development value and put the property back in the tax base. Mr. Anderson stated that one way or another the city would recoup the money. Mayor Christiansen stated that he would caution Council to be aware that other parties have LLCs that are out there and that if they have the same circumstance, we send the wrong message, they will walk away if they have the same type of disaster. Mayor Christiansen stated that he does not think that the Mayor, Council, and the citizens of the city should be left holding the bag. Mayor Christiansen stated that they need to find a hammer, and make sure that it is in place quickly, so they can recoup the monies because there are other buildings, and this is going to deplete the budget that is set out to demolish dangerous buildings. Responding to Mayor Christiansen, Mr. Hare stated that if there is someone out there that has an LLC and they are not paying taxes, they are not paying this, they have damages and we take it over, they owe $100,000. Mr. Hare explained all they are liable for is whatever they get out of the building, they cannot go back and get more because it is a limited liability corporation, and you cannot go after them. Mr. Neil stated that there are a lot of questions in terms of what the cost is going to be. Mr. Neil explained that he looks at this maybe a little bit differently. Mr. Neil expressed it is like a canvas and right now we have a master plan being formed by Mosaic for the DDP, which is downtown. Mr. Neil stated that he would hope that this new canvas with possibilities of what can go into these places, including other places, that it becomes an opportunity rather than a negative to have a long- term positive. Mr. Neil stated that he is still looking at a much larger picture and he thinks that the picture that is in his mind is saying, "Do we need to get this done?" The answer is yes. Can it be done fast, as fast as we possibly can? Mr. Neil stated that then suddenly there is a new canvas that is downtown, new places where they can put things that are going to be more productive, bring in more business, pay more taxes, and whatever. Mr. Neil stated that he is looking at it on a very positive line that if

SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 7, 2022 PAGE 4 they are watching the back door, the money coming out the back door, they can do this and still have a very positive outcome. Responding to Mr. Sudler, Mr. Hugg stated Council recently approved the demolition of 207 North West Street. Mr. Hugg explained that it is not the size of this, but it does need to be demolished at this point. Mr. Hugg further explained there are similar buildings in that state throughout the city that also need to come down, it is just a matter of funding. Mr. Hugg noted that there is nothing to the size of this building, but that they still pose a danger, and they are very similar to this but in a smaller format. Mr. Hare moved to accept the staff recommendation of awarding the contract for the demolition of 235-239 West Loockerman Street to Design Contracting. The motion was seconded by Dr. Pillsbury and unanimously carried. Mr. Sudler moved for adjournment of the Violation of the Dangerous Building Ordinance meeting, hearing no objection, the meeting adjourned at 5:38 p.m. ANDRIA BENNETT CITY CLERK All ordinances, resolutions, motions, and orders adopted by City Council during their Special Meeting of November 7, 2022, are hereby approved. ROBIN R. CHRISTIANSEN MAYOR /AB S:\AGENDAS-MINUTES-PACKETS\Council-Minutes\2022\08-August 2022\08-15-2019 SPECIAL COUNCIL VDBO.docx