Demolition delayed for Tower Building

A processing backlog of federal energy grants means it likely will be spring or later before the wrecking ball brings down the old Methodist Hospital on Miller Avenue.

Typically known as the Tower Building, the 40,000-square-foot structure — a longtime drag on county finances — is without tenants and heat and is waiting for the end.

It’s also without a $150,000 community development block grant that is being issued through the governor’s Office of Tourism and Development. The money will pay for about a third of the project’s estimated demolition costs.

Recent Davison County Commission meetings have furthered the misconception that the county is simply waiting on a block grant check from Pierre before it can get moving.

That’s not the way the process works, said Richard Benda, state secre- tary for tourism and state development, who said that it’s his office that is “waiting to receive a request for funds. They don’t get funds up front, they get them as the project gets done. It’s in the county’s hands. It doesn’t appear that it’s in our court.”

A total project estimate of $500,000 was used to apply for the block grant, says county Maintenance Superintendent Mark Ruml, but those are unofficial numbers solicited from area contractors and not professional engineers. Actual demolition costs won’t be known until demolition firms submit final bids.

Benda said a signed grant agreement from his office was all the authorization the county needed to move ahead. Funds will be paid out once the project is awarded and the contractor requests money for the job. In similar cases, the local government entity advances the funds and submits a bill for reimbursement.

But before a demolition contract can be advertised, bid documents must be completed and submitted to Pierre for approval, said Eric Ambroson, a community development specialist with Planning and Development District III in Yankton, who has been assisting the county with its block grant application.

Since federal grant money is involved, the project must comply with federal bidding and wage regulations, he explained.

Ambroson said his office spent the last few months swamped in applications from area towns and governments, seeking more than $5 million in federal energy grants.

That work was recently completed, said Ambroson, and more time will now be dedicated to Davison County’s grant. Bidding documents should be completed until later this month, he said.

An additional $7,500 in federal grant funds will be awarded to cover the administrative costs involved with preparing the block grant.

Those funds will be used to pay Planning and Development for its work in developing the demolition bid documents and specifications.

Engineering involvement is not a state requirement for demolition, said Ambroson, but it may not be a bad idea.

He said a meeting of all interested bidders would also be a reasonable option. At such a meeting, bidders would be able to ask questions and receive clarification on all aspects of the demolition project.

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