The major issue with the dilapidated hotel at the former Inn at Westview [“Dilapidated hotel taints town centre,” August 31] appears, to me, to be the toxins mentioned in the article: asbestos in the sheet rock and the black mould.
Toxic dust will become airborne when the building comes down and residents and businesses will be impacted. Unless the building could be encased, or the toxins stabilized during the process?
Not to mention the rats that will flee the scene, as getting into the structure to deal with them is out of the question, according to the fire chief. (The aerial view of the structure was an eye opener.)
The cost-saving measure of dumping the materials in the Catalyst Paper Corporation dump in Wildwood is also a question. Shouldn’t the welfare of residents of Wildwood be part of the Catalyst side of the equation?
A $500,000 loan for the demolition is something that can be negotiated between the parties, but the toxic aspect is the larger issue.
Lois Goodman
Manson Avenue
