City hopes to know demolition timeline by mid-September

The city of Cassville hopes to have a clearer timeline of the Hall Theatre building demolition by mid-September, following Phase II of the Brownfields Voluntary Cleanup Program.

The structure, located on the northeast corner of the Barry County Courthouse square, burned in a March 1, 2022, fire that remains an open investigation.

Steve Walensky, Cassville city administrator, said the city has been working with the Brownfields Voluntary Cleanup Program to determine if possible heating tank fuel leaks in the basement present an environmental hazard that would prevent demolition, despite the property being condemned.

The Brownfields program is more frequently used to remove old tanks from defunct gas stations, but because of the nature of the fuel, the Hall Theatre qualified to participate. Walensky said bids on Phase II were due back Monday and opened on Tuesday.

“They should award that in a couple weeks, and then site work should start a couple weeks after that,” he said. “It could be Sept. 1 before work starts, and that will go on for three to four weeks after.”

Phase I of the program was a research phase, an assessment of the building and its history that ultimately encompasses more than 300 pages of information.

“With that report, they recommended Phase II because they felt there was enough evidence there to find contaminants,” Walensky said. “In Phase II, they will come our and bore small holes around the outside of the building, kind of like a little well, then take samples from there and test those for contaminants.”

The Brownfields program covers the cost of testing 100 percent. Phase I ran $2,200, and Phase II will be about $10,000 for three borings, plus soil and groundwater samples.

Walensky said the city is also still pursuing legal action against the building’s owner, Travis James, with a hearing set for Sept. 11 where Walensky hopes to initiate monthly court proceedings.

“He says he has no funds for cleanup, so the Brownfields program was to help with that versus using city money and leveraging the costs against him,” Walensky said. “He has been less than cooperative, and it’s not helping downtown. It’s an eye sore, and we’re trying to be equitable and fair, but we are running out of patience.”

Walensky is confident by the middle to end of Phase II, the city will be able to formulate a possible timeline for demolition.

“I wish things were moving faster,” he said. “I’m like everybody else in that I want to see it cleaned, the hazard removed and a better image on the square.”

Walensky added the city has independently completed an asbestos study on the building that showed no remediation in that regard is needed.

The investigation into the blaze remains open, according to Donnie Privett, interim chief of the Cassville Police Department, but leads on the case are running thin.

“We had one person of interest, but that person left town right after it happened and we have not been able to find [them],” Privett said. “I don’t think we will ever be able to tell what exactly stated it or who. The case is open until the statute of limitations runs out, or there is an arrest or eyewitness who comes forward.”

Privett said early in the investigation, the theory was a candle in a bathroom had burned down or fallen over and ignited nearby boxes. However, that theory cannot be explicitly proven, and tips have not come in for months.

“The longest I think we have gone on an arson case before an arrest was about six months,” Privett said. “And, no tips have come in on that case for a while.”

Privett also said police were never able to obtain any insurance information for the building