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A tenant of the red-tagged Gables building downtown was critical Friday of the city's response to the recent code problems that led to the building being declared unfit for occupancy.
Rather than approaching the need for correcting the problems in a cooperative spirit, the city has been "punitive" in its approach, said Pam Mitchell, owner of Keystone Connect, who said she was speaking only for herself, but as one of two tenant co-managers for the building on behalf of the out-of-town owner.
Mitchell's allegations are untrue, as evidenced by the outcomes of interactions between the city and the lawyer for Gables' ownership, said Interim City Manager Joe Merrill, alluding to the building's utilities remaining on and the scheduling of an inspection of the 12th Avenue section's sprinkler system for Monday.
The issues began after the Fire Department responded Jan. 22 to a commercial fire alarm and found that a sprinkler head on the first floor of the vacant and unheated 11th Avenue section had burst, releasing a substantial amount of water, the city's fire inspector said then.
Water leaked into the basement, contacting electrical wiring, light fixtures and panel boxes, according to the fire inspector.
Then on the night of Jan. 22 and the following day, two additional sprinkler heads failed -- one in the 11th Street section and one at the north end of the 12th Street section formerly occupied by a social service agency.
There were six Gables tenants at the time of the condemnation, all in the 12th Avenue section.
Since the issues started, the co-managers have been working with the support of the owner to resolve the problems that were identified by city inspectors, Mitchell said.
That has involved engineers, electricians and fire suppression firms, Mitchell said.
"The challenges that we were faced with were intimidating," she stated.
Nevertheless, things have "fallen into place," Mitchell said.
All the water in both the 11th Avenue section and the 12th Avenue section was cleaned up promptly, the sprinklers on the 12th Avenue side have been repaired and electrical work has been done, including clarification of issues on the 11th Avenue side, she said.
"Tens of thousands of dollars" worth of work has been done, paid for by the owner, she said.
"We busted our butts," she said.
The 11th Avenue sprinklers still need to be fixed, she said.
Monday's inspection should result in the 12th Avenue section being opened to the tenants -- although one of the six is apparently not returning, Mitchell said.
Mitchell was disappointed that the city condemned the 12th Avenue side, given that the section where the sprinkler head failed was "isolated" from the rest of the structure, she said.
She was also disappointed that the fire and codes officials who met with her initially planned to shut off the utilities immediately, not accepting the assurances of a master electrician that had recently worked in the building that it wasn't necessary, according to Mitchell.
They seemed to be averse to "solutions," she said.
She persuaded the officials to allow a short grace period, because her business needs to sustain electronic communications for other businesses, and because water in the sprinkler system needed to be kept from freezing, she said.
After that short grace period, the city was going to execute the shut down, she said.
It was only after the co-managers enlisted an attorney who threatened to file for an injunction that an arrangement was worked out to allow the utilities to remain on for a week, Mitchell said.
By the time that week expired, the professionals hired by the Gables contingent had done enough work that the city relented and left the utilities on, Mitchell said.
The result belies Mitchell's accusation that the city failed to cooperate, Merrill said.
Throughout the recent times, the city's solicitor has been in frequent contact with the Gables lawyer, and both have been "working diligently together through every step," Merrill said.
The communications between the lawyers have been in writing, with reports from the Gables' professionals on official letterhead, Merrill said.
"The city has a job to do," Merrill said. "We can't overlook issues just because they want us to."
Risks need to be mitigated, he said.
Still, the city is committed to continuing to work with the owner and his representatives, "to keep the building safe and keep the ball moving forward," Merrill said.
"(But) we're not willing to cut corners," he said.
It would have been better if the city approached the case by "reach(ing) out a hand of assistance," than by punishing the owners and his representatives for the government's own past "poor oversight," she said.
"Pam is allowed to have her opinion, but that doesn't make it true," Merrill said.
It's possible that the perceived lack of cooperation from the city reflects the city's concern about the "daylighting" project for the 11th Avenue section not having been done, despite available grant funding, according to Mitchell.
Daylighting would involve stripping the brick facade that was constructed about 50 years ago, so that the ornate window treatments reflective of the old downtown would be revealed.
There's also the city's concern about the parking garage, which was previously condemned, Mitchell said.
Both of those issues may be "sticking points" for the city, she said.
As a tenant, she got "caught in the crossfire" between the city and the owner, Mitchell said, adding she believes the owner has been treated unjustly.
The owner "wavers between hope and plans," afraid what the city will require next, she said.
The work that has been done since the condemnation, however, has actually provided information about the complex structure that may help in the recruitment of tenants, Mitchell said.
"We want people to know that it is a safe building, with some beautiful spaces," she said. "It's far from the truth that the building is falling apart."
The parking garage is a "different story," she conceded.
Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.