April 26, 2023 |
Photo – Strand Theater in Rawlins – Bigfoot99 file photo
Rawlins is getting set to begin work on at least one brownfield building in the city.
The Brownfields Program was started by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1995. The program exists to provide financial assistance to municipalities with abandoned or underutilized buildings with known or suspected environmental contamination. Executive Director of Rawlins Downtown Development Authority Main Street Pam Thayer said the city has four sites that meet the Brownfields criteria.
Thayer said the city unsuccessfully requested a Brownfields grant last year. Seeing a genuine need for the program, Thayer said the state chose to move forward with minimal city intervention. The first building targeted for clean-up is the former Pink Motel. A contractor has been hired to remediate the structure. Thayer said the state will oversee the project with the city only serving as a liaison for the property owners.
Thayer said she was contacted by Brownfields and Orphan Sites Remediation Program Supervisor Cindy Martinez about other funding opportunities. Thayer said the state will pay to find out if the former motel would be suitable for another use.
Similar to the Pink Motel remediation project, the state will be in full control of the feasibility studies. The city will only act as a go-between for the property owners and the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, the agency that oversees the Brownfields program. Thayer said the feasibility studies should be completed by late summer or early fall.
Thayer isn’t satisfied with the four Rawlins properties the state identified in their assessment. The DDA Director said she’s already applied for an additional half million-dollar Brownfields grant. Thayer said she’s working with DDA/Main Street staffers Ariel Cisneros and Brian Dent to identify potential sites.
Thayer also said Brownfields Program Supervisor Martinez contacted her about another potential funding opportunity. Martinez told Thayer that the Environmental Protection Agency’s local Brownfields Project Manager Greg Davis had created a new program to fund the destruction of hazardous buildings.
Thayer said the tear-down money could only be used on city owned property. Mayor Terry Weickum asked Thayer if there would be any roadblocks preventing the city from taking ownership of the Pink Motel. Thayer said a bank owns a lien on the motel. She said a banker told her if the cost to bring the property up to code exceeds what the bank is willing to pay, the bank could, hypothetically, gift the property to the city.
With the deed to the property in hand, the city could sell the building after the remediation is completed. Thayer said the city would lose an eyesore and receive future property taxes at the same time. She said it’s a win-win for the city.
The Pink Motel is the first of four Rawlins buildings to receive treatment from the Brownfields program. Thayer said she is confident her latest grant application will be approved. If so, many more abandoned and hazardous structures could get a new lease on life.
