When the Town of Phil Campbell hired an engineering firm to observe and inspect a 10-partition building on Broad Street, it was the next step in a process to determine the safety and structural integrity of a block-long building that houses three viable businesses surrounded by seven dilapidated partitions.
On April 8th, Scott Dollar, an engineer with MAK Engineering of Birmingham, performed a site visit to the building. Dollar said his primary purpose for coming to Phil Campbell was to determine if the building’s condition was such that it adversely impacts its ability to function for its intended purpose. The assessment was limited to the partitions that Dollar could inspect, as some parts of the building were not accessible due to the owners’ failure to unlock them prior for the engineering inspection. The only three partitions Dollar had access to were the three that house the martial arts academy, Gigi’s Unique Finds and a restaurant. The Cartee partitions were not accessible.
Dollar did have access to drone aerial photos that showed collapsed and missing roofs on several partitions.
The Broad Street building is more than 100 years old and each partition is dependent on the adjacent partitions for structural support. As a result, Dollar said in his report “structural inadequacies in one space may adversely impact the other units to function as intended.”
His assessment was the Broad Street Building “has severe structural deficiencies with roof collapse located throughout the building. In addition, the masonry wall mortar joints are in severe condition…Catastrophic collapse of the Broad Street Building structure, including but not limited to, the remaining roof structure and walls is possible.”
Dollar’s recommendation was that the building “should not be occupied” until structural shoring, repairs, and reinforcement is installed by a qualified contractor. In addition, the area surrounding the building should be restricted to mitigate the risk of damage to property and/or personal injury or death that may be caused by further failures of the structure.”
The immediate question then becomes who hires the qualified contractor and who pays the bill? If the owner is found guilty in municipal court, he would have the legal responsibility and if necessary repairs are not done, the city can either do the work and attach a lien to the property, or ask the court for a demolition order if not cost feasible to repair.
Either way, the news is not good for the three business owners who have put their hearts, and wallets, into making their businesses attractive and safe for customers. And with no municipal court scheduled until June, nothing indicates the predicament will be resolved in the near future.
With no building inspector for Phil Campbell, the council reached out last month to the State of Alabama Fire Marshal’s Office for assistance. Cody Wakefield, a Building Construction Specialist with the State Fire Marshal’s Office, came to Phil Campbell and inspected as much of the downtown block on the west side of Broad Street between Pike and McClung Avenue as he could access.
While Wakefield also recommended the businesses be closed temporarily, it was not a mandate and he urged city leaders to have a structural engineer inspect the property.
The steady decline of seven partitions, all owned by the Cartee family, has reached the point where one business owner was forced to temporarily relocate after bricks fell off of a shared wall with one of the rundown partitions.
Concerned for his customers’ safety, Tribe Martial Arts Academy owner David Silva is renting space in the Phil Campbell Community Center, at a $300/month cost, to teach his classes until construction is complete on a new building that will house his business.
While the town did file two complaints against Al Cartee last year in Phil Campbell Municipal Court, one for operating the former laundromat without a license and one for a nuisance abatement, the cases have stalled in court after repeated continuances requested by Cartee’s attorney due to his client’s health problems.
The latest court date, April 21st, saw the case continued once again after Cartee’s attorney said his client was in a Nashville hospital. With municipal court held only six times a year in Phil Campbell, there is no end in sight for the legal process, so having a structural engineer’s report was even more important to help town officials decide their next move.
Frustration and anger from Phil Campbell residents and business owners was expressed at what was supposed to be a council meeting on April 15th. With only three council members present, there was no quorum established and no meeting could be held.
Newly appointed Mayor Eddie Marbutt said he understands, and shares, the same frustrations with a situation that has gone unaddressed by the town’s elected leaders for more than a decade.
“I know this building issue is a big issue in our city. It will be addressed as an immediate problem, not a long-term one,” Marbutt said. “We’re going to push whatever we have to do to get those buildings in our possession, or have the ownership take care of the issues, which hasn’t happened so far.”
Short of a court order or an agreement between the town and the building’s owners to transfer title to the town in lieu of having to pay for major structural repairs, no resolution in the near future is likely.
And should any of the partitions collapse completely, causing injury and/or damage, then a civil dispute could enter the realm of a criminal prosecution.
And that’s a situation that no one wants to see.
