City scrambles, closes Division as old high school may collapse

City officials, fearing the possible collapse of at least one wall of the abandoned old high school, have closed Division Street at Seventh Avenue, and the Ritzville School District’s agriculture shop has been evacuated and will likely remain empty for the rest of the school year.

The old high school’s wall facing Division Street is bowing outward and it appears the roof has collapsed over the auditorium portion of the school, which is a new development. Police Chief Dave McCormick said the wall was not bowed out on May 1 when a visual inspection of the building was conducted.

“We are contemplating the need to take more formal action to condemn the building,” said Mayor Linda Kadlec on Monday. “We have now called this a hazardous area.”

City attorney Mark DeWulf confirmed Tuesday the city hired a structural engineer to determine if there is an imminent danger of the building or a portion of the building collapsing. The structural engineer examined the building on Wednesday. The results of that inspection were not available at press time.

“The city needs to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public,” DeWulf said. “When that is threatened we need to take whatever actions that are reasonable. The initial response was that we have to protect this area right now. After that, we will hopefully turn over responsibility to where it should be, to the property owner.”

The vacant former high school is owned by Jim Delegans of Spokane.

The building and the land it sits on has been a thorn in the city’s side for several years.

The city routinely has to compel Delegans to maintain the grounds and remove weeds.

Several years ago, the city spent $6,000 to take Delegans to court and compel him to fence the entrances and board up the windows.

“To the council over the years, the building has become an eyesore,” Kadlec said. “We took the owner to court and the end result was he had to secure the entrances and board the windows. In other words it was a slap on the hand.”

Monday city officials gathered outside the building and made the determination that the situation is serious enough to keep Division Street closed until the matter is resolved.

Chain link fence was erected Tuesday, closing off both sides of the street and the sidewalk alongside the old school.

“We do consider this a very unsafe area,” Kadlec said. “It’s not a matter of if this wall should fall, but when. We appreciate the residents of Ritzville avoiding the area and we do apologize for any inconvenience.”

If it is confirmed that there is an immediate threat, then the city has a variety of legal options. The city attorney declined to map out specific plans until the condition of the building is determined and the owner has an opportunity to respond.

DeWulf said Delegans has been contacted and he has had phone conversations with him. He also said Delegans indicated he would have a contractor look at the building on Thursday.

Lind-Ritzville School District Superintendent Rob Roettger said the situation has impacted seven classes that are typically held in the shop located directly across the alley from the abandoned building.

“At the last minute on Monday we decided not to have the kids come into the shop,” he said. “I talked to the mayor, the city inspector and Canfield (district’s insurance carrier) in the morning and we all looked at the facility. We all recommended that we don’t use the ag shop.”

The ag instructors and their students are being housed in two classrooms at Ritzville Grade School.

The program must do without access to the shop equipment that plays a key role in some of the classes taught there.