Derby Aldermen Want To Tear Down Minerva Street Eyesore

The Board of Aldermen last month set the gears in motion to tear down a long-blighted property owned in part by local developer John Guedes’ company.

The move is an endorsement for the building inspector to use state and local building safety codes to tear down the building at 67 – 71 Minerva St., which has been a target of the city’s blight committee for several months.

The Aldermen Dec. 18 also voted to take all appropriate” measures to protect the public from the property, including fencing.

Alderman Carmen DiCenso is chairman of the blight committee, which is a subcommittee of the Board of Aldermen.

At an Aldermen’s meeting Dec. 18, DiCenso said it was time to tear the building down, calling it a danger to the public. The owner hasn’t been willing to work with the city, DiCenso said.

He read a letter from Fred D’Amico, an engineer hired by the city who looked at the property Dec. 1.

D’Amico’s letter did not paint a pretty picture.

The engineer’s letter stated a large section of the building has been left open, exposing the interior to the elements.

The structural stability has been compromised and has resulted in an unsafe condition,” the letter stated.

The roof rafters and floor supports have been severely compromised” because they have not been protected from the elements, according to the letter.

Black mold was also spotted in the structure, according to the letter.

D’Amico recommended the building be razed.

The audio clip below features DiCenso talking about the property.

DiCenso said the building looks like it can topple over at any moment, and city officials have been trying to get Guedes to fix the property for at least three years.

I’m afraid, God forbid there is a snowstorm and some little kids are playing in that empty lot. We are responsible for whatever happens, because we know about it,” DiCenso said.

In an email to the Valley Indy Dec. 19, Guedes explained the tortured history of the fading property.

Guedes said he’s a partner in Broadbridge Hill Development, LLC and that the company purchased the mortgage on the Minerva Street property in 2006, but didn’t take title until May 2008, after the initial owner fell into foreclosure.

Guedes said his company then discovered there was ground contamination on the property, and a company was hired to start investigating the extent of the problem.

Things got tricky after the power company, with permission, disconnected power from the property in order to remove ground transformers.

The electric was supposed to be reconnected at a different spot on the property.

However, the project ran into the wall of then-Derby Building Inspector David Kopjanski, who, according to Guedes, wouldn’t approve of any additional work on the property — so Guedes couldn’t get the power back on.

The failure to reinstall power before winter set in caused a major problem,” Guedes said. Without power we could not maintain heat in the buildings. The water and fire protection system frozen, the wood structures began to decay and collapse. Orders from the Blight officer, which was also Kopjanski, began to be issued.”

In 2013, Guedes said his company planned to sell the property to TSML Properties, LLC, and that he was working on a deal that would satisfy all back taxes and liens on the property.

Shortly afterward a meeting was conducted with the administration of (former) Mayor (Anthony) Staffieri to lay out a plan for the environmental cleanup and zoning approvals for the intended uses,” Guedes said.

The developer said he was working with the Valley Council of Governments to secure grant money or loans to clean the ground contamination.

This process was underway when the new administration took office,” Guedes said.

Derby put the property out to auction late last year as a way to recover back taxes.

However, no one bid on the property. That makes sense, Guedes said, because whoever owns it has to deal with the contamination.

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