Brookfield trustees are working with Trumbull County Council of Governments to demolish the former Gray Wolf Tavern at 900 S. Irvine Ave. in Masury, which has been vacant for some time.
Trumbull County Land Bank has agreed to turn over title to the township for the purposes of demolition, and then the ownership of the property will revert to the land bank once the land is cleared, the trustees said Sept. 14, the day they agreed to sign a contract with the land bank.
COG will be responsible for the demolition, but the Trumbull County Engineer’s Office, which is a member of COG, will perform an asbestos inspection and, if the property is clear of asbestos, will demo the building, said Engineer Randy Smith.
The engineer’s office charges $20 an hour for the asbestos inspection, but is not certified to remove and dispose of asbestos, Smith said. If asbestos is found, there might be other funds, such as through the county’s Community Development Block Grant program, that could be used for such work, he said.
The engineer’s office will use equipment acquired for free from a military surplus program for the demolition, and only charges for labor and fuel. A typical home demo might cost $4,000 to $6,000, but the engineer’s office only charges about $1,500, he said.
COG pays the engineer’s bill, and then bills the township, he said.
Through this arrangement, a school building in Niles and homes in Braceville and West Farmington were torn down, Smith said.
Township Trustee Gary Lees, the township’s COG representative, said COG needs to obtain a demolition permit from the Trumbull County Building Department, which costs $60.
Lees added that he hopes the township can use COG to raze more structures in the township.
“We’re taking this little one first, and then we’d like to move on for a bigger one,” he said.
UPDATE: The trustees said Nov. 2 that the deed transfer has occurred and asbestos test samples have been taken and the results are due back soon.
