So, here we are, still knee-deep in the decade-plus Inn at Westview demolition debacle. Building owner Seaboard Hotels and building manager Jack Barr stall and delay, make excuses, and then stall and delay again while City of Powell River council and staff continue to move slowly.
Barr claims the latest reason he cannot take action in demolishing the derelict building, a glaring eyesore at the centre of town since it was boarded up more than 10 years ago, is because he cannot have contractors enter due to a WorkSafeBC order.
And why has WorkSafeBC declared the building unsafe to enter? Because instead of Seaboard taking care of its mess seven or eight years ago, it left it to rot in the centre of town.
Barr and Seaboard recently missed a deadline set by council to apply for a demolition permit. By doing so, they are sending the message that they have no intention to work with the city to take the building down. If Barr and Seaboard cannot even bother to fill out an application in order to set timelines, further action is highly unlikely.
This situation has been a frustrating experience for everyone for the past several years. It is no wonder that many Powell River residents are completely fed up with waiting for decisive action.
Watching council drag its heels and having mayor Dave Formosa pipe in every so often to tell us to give Seaboard more time and yet another chance has become infuriating. We might drive Seaboard to bankruptcy, says the mayor, and we could end up paying for the cost of removing the building ourselves if we push the issue too far. Unfortunately, we are way past the point of being accommodating.
Every business makes decisions. Barr and Seaboard have made the decision, over and over again, for years and years, to not deal with this building. That is their mistake and if the cost to tear it down is double or triple what it was before, then it is on them. If Seaboard does not follow the city’s remediation order and taxpayers’ money comes into the equation, that is when the real trouble will begin.
As the city now prepares for the very real possibility that it might have to come in and take care of this mess at taxpayers’ expense, Seaboard needs to step forward, do the right thing and demolish the building as soon as possible. If not, it will be the worst business decision Seaboard could ever make in Powell River.
Enough is enough is enough.
Jason Schreurs, publisher/editor
