Benwood may take down part of bridge December 21, 2014 By JOSELYN KING , Times Leader BENWOOD -- A significant INVESTMENT at the Benwood Industrial Park could give officials the financial means to take down the section of the Bellaire Bridge that looms over the city. The citys FINANCES are strong, and a new oil and gas-related tenant could invest $700 million to build and start operations at the industrial park as early as next year, according to Mayor Ed Kuca and Police Chief Frank Longwell. They said the deal is not yet finalized, and they could not disclose the name of the company. Kuca and Longwell said over time, the related construction permits and business and occupation taxes could GENERATE the estimated $400,000 needed to remove the section of the span over the city. Officials then would place the issue on the ballot before Benwood voters and ask them if they wish to spend public funds to take down the bridge. Im not a believer in government spending $400,000 to $500,000 on a private problem, but this is a unique problem, Longwell said. The bridge is currently owned by Krystle and Lee Chaklos under the name KDC INVESTMENTS, and Lee Chaklos is awaiting sentencing in federal court after being found guilty of criminal contempt in October. Chaklos during earlier court proceedings failed to disclose more than $2 million in liens against the bridge, and also misleading the court about the value of its metal, a judge ruled. His conviction has added another chapter to the drawn-out saga of the Bellaire Bridge, and delayed any potential demolition of the span in the foreseeable future. Kuca and Longwell said they have met with a contractor who told them it would cost about $400,000 to remove only the section of the Bellaire Bridge that is over the city and stop where it reaches the river. Benwood officials, meanwhile, see the standing structure as a safety concern, and fear its eroding concrete could fall and strike people or property below. We can actually remove the bridge. We can condemn it, Longwell said. But the law says if you condemn it, you have to take ownership and responsibility of it as a city. That includes the liens, and that is why we havent done it yet. We can condemn the bridge, and challenge the liens. Our argument would be if thats your metal, get it off our streets. The value of the metal has been set at less than the $2 million in liens, and Longwell said he believes it would be in the BEST INTEREST of the lienholders to abandon whatever financial rights they have to the bridges metal. I think those folks will never get their MONEY back, he said. Let us work with it. We are working with a contractor, and they think they can get (the section of the bridge) out of there easily. It would cost $400,000, and they would take the metal.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 13:41:46 +0000
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