NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson City Council approved the bid for the Atrium Hotel demolition at its special meeting on Tuesday. The low bid was for $865,000 from Kansas Concrete LLC of Nickerson.
The bid includes asbestos removal, demolition and hauling away all contents, signage and demolition material. Also, the contractor will remove all concrete, footings and foundations within the structural limits, cut and cap all utilities and backfill the area to grade with fill dirt.
Asbestos abatement is scheduled to start within 45 days of bid acceptance, with demolition to be completed within 120 days of the completion of the asbestos abatement.
The what-ifs regarding what happens after the demolition were the bulk of the questions from the council on Tuesday.
The city will put a lien on the property for the demolition cost. The bottom line is, if the current owner sells the property for more than the amount of the lien and his mortgage, the city will get paid back. If he fails to pay the lien and it goes to sheriff's sale, it would depend on how much it brought whether or not the city, and by extension, the taxpayers would get any money, or, alternatively, he could pay the lien and continue to pay the mortgage and then he would have title to the cleared property once everything is done for his own development purposes.
However, none of that has played out yet, so it would depend on the facts as they happen which party would ultimately be responsible.