City takes ownership of old school

The City of Ritzville is the new owner of the old high school on Seventh Avenue. Tuesday Mayor Linda Kadlec was informed by the city’s legal firm that the judge had signed the order and the documents had been recorded, clearing the way for the city to proceed with demolition of the building.

The city has retained Eastside Wood Recycling to demolish the building. Kadlec said the contractor has assured the city that work can begin by Friday. It’s estimated to take two weeks to completely demolish the structure. The estimated cost of the demolition is $20,000.

Next Tuesday, the city council will need to make decisions regarding the removal of the bricks and debris and the demolition of the basement and foundation and its removal. Neither of those tasks are covered in the $20,000 price tag.

The council will have to decide what to do with the property once the demolition and cleanup are completed. The city could sell the property to offset its expenses for legal fees and demolition.

Kadlec admits to being a bit impatient with the three-month long effort to reach this point. The closure of Division Street and the evacuation of the school district’s ag shop, she said were more than inconvenient.

“I have had a hard time waiting this long,” she said. “Everyone close to me knows I wanted this done a month ago.”

While removal of the debris may take several weeks or months, Kadlec said the area will be secured to keep people out of the debris pile. She said the city council may decide to have the public works crew haul away the debris. The crew has several major summer projects ongoing, so the additional work could take quite some time to complete.

Kadlec said she was relieved to have reached this stage.

“Now the city has it, I feel we have control of the situation,” she said.