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Thursday, June 20, 2019

NorCo Council To Decide Demo Contract For Milides Bldg Tonight

Northampton County Council is poised tonight to approve a $72,500 deal for the demolition of the Milides Building, which is located across the street from the courthouse at 654 Wolf Avenue in Easton. If approved, a contract will be awarded to Paul Giroux, Inc., a firm located locally in Wind Gap. Once permits are in place, the building will be down in a month.

"It's no Martin Tower," said County Administrator Charles Dertinger

The Milides building was built by prominent Easton attorney Gus Milides. In addition to its convenient location, it includes a 40-space parking lot. In 2007, a divided NorCo Council voted to buy the building for $1.5 million, with Ann McHale ad Ron Angle voting No. McHale believed the price was too high while Angle said part of the property would have to be razed.

As it happens, Angle was correct. Both the former law office and its parking lot are slowly falling off a cliff. This is mostly because it was built on fill that had never been properly packed down. Stormwaters add to the erosion.

The plan is to demolish the building and place an underground tank beneath the parking lot to drain rainwater. After the property is shored up properly, a new parking lot for 104 vehicles is planned. This will include eight handicapped spaces, six of which will be van accessible.

This project has already been bid in its entirety twice, but without success. Dertinger said contractors have been reluctant to assume responsibility for shoring up the cliff because they are on the hook if there's a problem. So bids were sought from three local firms. Paul Giroux, Inc. was the lowest.


18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Give it to the DaVinci people!

Anonymous said...

Please name all the idiots from 2007 who essentially lit our tax dollars on fire.

Anonymous said...

Bernie this is a national treasure in the making. Instead of the fish tank McClure can have the attraction of " watch a piece of Northampton County slowly slip away. Kinda like adding this waste to McClure's list of debacles such as the bone shelter he calls a forencic shrine or the human storage unit called Gracedale, our own horrid attraction.

Anonymous said...

Let all McClure's people park over there and dodge the traffic while trying to cross in the hazardous crosswalk.

Anonymous said...

As a taxpayer of Northampton County, I wish to express my appreciation to Mr. McClure for his watchful eye on our County finances. He is one of the better elected officials in the valley when he addresses the need for being a better watchdog of our tax dollars. Give credit where credit is due. He totally sucks when it comes to addressing the personnel issues before him. He sucks when it comes to his desire to keep Northampton County employees the lowest paid in the State including wages at Gracedale. If he truly feels that the employees are the County's greatest assets then put your money with your mouth is and pay comparable wages.

X said...

Bernie, theres many newsarticles today from local shootings and this epic landside built and passed by the easton assasins. Than I have scanned all and there is none on the epic earthquake comming at the polls in 2020. Now this is if there is no collusion and criminal intent bought and paid for by the ones that paid for the russian hacking story that all Americans had to put up with for too long.

Who and what entity was paid off to allow this hillslide to be built, criminals one and all. There are many other newer developments in easton and its outskirts that have many issues and still that were known to officials yet allowed to be built?

Bernie O'Hare said...

”Bernie this is a national treasure in the making. Instead of the fish tank McClure can have the attraction of " watch a piece of Northampton County slowly slip away. Kinda like adding this waste to McClure's list of debacles such as the bone shelter he calls a forencic shrine or the human storage unit called Gracedale, our own horrid attraction.”

McClure will more than double the parking available there. This will be a Gidsend to many people, his forensic center is absolutely necessary and decades overdue. Of all county execs, Gracedale never had a stronger supporter and he will get it past its current problems, much of which happened under an administrator he did not want.

Aside from partisan hacks like you, the general view is that McClure has been outstanding.

His Achilles heel has been the employee. He needs to pay more. A lot more. Morale is terrible in some places like the jail, 911 and parts of Gracedale. I do believe he knows this and will work at solving this without hurting the taxpayer.

Anonymous said...

Bernie,

Just for giggles, if it gets fixed up, the employees park in the lot, and God forbid but the lot slides down the hill with the cars going down with it; who is liable for replacing the cars? The car owners insurance or the County?

MT said...

Was a study conducted to insure that you have the right amount of handicap parking slots. As the Morning Call reported today the County citizens are getting older. How about Military Veteran parking

Anonymous said...

The forensic center is absolutely unnecessary. And worse, it's to be gold-plated to be "the finest in the state." I'm sure wanting Gracedale patients and families are thrilled with the promised fluff.

The parking lot boondoggle isn't McClure's fault. I think it was one of Stoffa's famous Ralph Cramden ideas. Bang! Zoom! Right in the wallet, you taxpaying suckers!

Bernie O'Hare said...

MT, yes. Well in excess

Bernie O'Hare said...

12:45,is trying her best to slime McClurevunder the guise of caring about Gracedale. She just wants another Brown.

Anonymous said...

10:01 that would be the liability insurance of the contractor for the first year. Than after that the car owners are ass out of a car damaged on county property?
In lehighcounty a man's property went missing while at work and the incident was quashed.
The demolition crew that was hired by the contractor was told take that one too?

Anonymous said...

Is Mclure related to John brown!

Anonymous said...

Things were better under Brown. Stoffa bought this mistake. Nice guy who whiffed a lot.

Anonymous said...

It provided 60 new parking spaces not 40

Anonymous said...

Hopefully, the new fancy morgue will be able to determine how long Bob Freeman has been gone. Then, an investigation can be launched to determine who's been cashing his checks. The new center will deliver many positives.

Anonymous said...

Let me guess...the parking lot will be all permit spots since the current parking deck is almost entirely made up of permit spaces. I am sure the Sherriff's department will suck of 50% of the spots for their personal vehicles since they can't seem to walk more than 15 yard's.