The Village of Granisle hopes a face to face meeting with the owners of the increasingly derelict building at 62 Hagan St. will result in at least preventing the structure from further decay.
The decision made at the April 6 council meeting for Mayor Linda McGuire to send a letter seeking the meeting follows a failure by property owners Granisle Entertainment to respond to earlier calls to repair or otherwise deal with former Mammoth Lodge’s collapsed roof.
Vacant for years, the roof collapsed over the winter of 2017 and although the building owner did cover roof sections with a tarp in 2018, “the protective covering has deteriorated, exposing the interior of the building to precipitation and subsequent water damage,” notes a Nov. 22, 2021 letter from Bulkley-Nechako regional district senior building inspector Richard Wainwright to the village council following a preliminary inspection.
The last communication the village has had with Granisle Entertainment representatives came in the form of a Feb. 18 phone call that resulted in a promise to visit the community either this month or next in the company of an engineer.
“I emphasized that the structural engineer report would be required before any work permit would be issued for the repair,” said village deputy corporate officer Lorna Eftodie of the conversation.
“He was also reminded that council had requested a plan in writing that has not been received from the board.”
That request was made in writing on Dec. 3, 2021 citing “the anxieties surrounding the condition of the building as the deterioration of the building is substantial.”
Aside from the roof collapse, that letter also noted building code issues arising from the construction of the framed roof that will need to be addressed.
Eftodie said the company representative asked for documentation on the state of the building.
Wainwright’s inspection revealed mold, mildew, rodents and a general state of disrepair where water had seeped in.
Meanwhile, the Vancouver-based lawyer who represents the village on legal affairs noted the options available to it in dealing with the property.
One is to impose a remedial action requirement and another is wait for the building to either be fixed up or sold to someone else who would then fix it up, said Michael Moll.
Failure to pay taxes would mean the property would be put up for a tax sale but it would likely become village property then, he said.
Granisle Entertainment has this property, which is worth just $28,000, and two others in the village for a combined value of $60,000, Moll added.
“The village can do this [roof tarping] and have some chance of recovering this money through property taxes/tax sale of the subject property and a small claim seeking a judgment that can be registered against the other two properties (in not sold beforehand),” he suggested.
The village could consider demolition but would have little chance of recovering those costs, Moll said.