Debris cleanup planned

CORINTH — A large pile of asbestos-contaminated fire debris on Main Street will be removed within the next two weeks, Mayor Bradley Winslow said Thursday.

The Corinth Village Board this week unanimously approved using $74,000 left in federal community development block grant funds to help the victims of a devastating Feb. 11 fire to clear their properties, Winslow said.

The fire started late on the night of Feb. 11 with the temperatures outside below zero.

The fire, the worst in the village in two decades, destroyed the Densmore furniture building, Jeff Dumont’s retail and apartment building, and a building that included Molly’s Mason Jar restaurant.

All apartment residents escaped the burning buildings uninjured.

At first fire investigators thought the fire was caused by a faulty furnace in one of the buildings. More investigation proved this was not the case and the fire’s cause remains unknown.

At Wednesday’s Village Board meeting, some residents complained that the village was using the federal money to clear private property.

Winslow said he has heard from more village residents saying the money should be used to clear the unsightly debris that has been there for three months.

“I’m happy,” said Jeff Dumont, the owner of one of three buildings destroyed in the Feb. 11 fire.

Dumont, whose building included five apartments and two retail stores, said he plans to rebuild once the debris is removed.

The $74,000 in federal money will be used to clear the Densmore property and Dumont’s property, Winslow said.

Some $35,000 in insurance money from the two property owners will also be used in the cleanup project which is estimated to cost $120,000.

The owner of the Molly’s Mason Jar property — the smallest of the three buildings — had that site cleared of debris already.

Winslow said the property owners have already gotten bids on the removal so the work can start soon. C.T. Male Associates, the Latham-based engineering firm, is coordinating the project.

Winslow said the federal money is the remainder of a $650,000 federal community development block grant that the village had obtained for the rehabilitation of residential and commercial properties in the village’s downtown district.

“Those buildings were vital to the village of Corinth,” Winslow said about the structures consumed in the fire.

“It’s not local village money but federal money designated for this purpose,” Winslow said.

The mayor said the debris pile is an “eyesore” for the entire downtown.

The state Department of Labor investigated the fire scene and determined the debris was contaminated by asbestos and had to be removed by asbestos-approved contractors.

Dumont said this drove up the cost of removing the fire debris considerably.

“The cost was so prohibitive, I needed help,” Dumont said on Thursday.

As things stand, he said, much of the fire insurance money he received will be going for the debris removal with little left for the rebuilding.

He said the village Planning Board gave him some ideas on how to rebuild on his narrow lot and he has an engineer working on reconstruction plans.

“I’m still in the hole,” Dumont said. “Every dollar spent for the cleanup is less for the new building.”

However, he said, he’s pleased and thankful the village has allocated the federal money for the downtown cleanup project.

“That was a big obstacle to get out of the way,” Dumont said.