EAST TOLEDO

Smokestack demolition set to start on July 10

City will pay $388,000 using federal money

The downtown Toledo skyline is visible behind the remains of the former Acme power plant in the Marina District.

After two years, the landowner of an enormous pile of debris and two unsafe structures in East Toledo will finally clean up its mess.

Unfortunately for the city of Toledo, it is the landowner.

The two smaller smokestacks left standing after the decommissioned Acme Power Plant at the East Toledo Marina District was razed two years ago will be imploded, and the Toledo-owned pile of rubble leftover from the demolition will finally be cleared next month, Collins administration officials said Wednesday.

The third, taller smokestack, which stands 298 feet tall, will be reduced by 100 feet, said Toledo Assistant Chief of Staff Joel Mazur. The city wants to save and preserve this historic stack.

The city is in violation of Federal Aviation Administration regulations because the structure is not lighted for aviation. The height reduction would allow the city to keep the smokestack dark, Mr. Mazur said.

The implosion and cleanup will cost $388,000, paid to B&B Wreaking Inc. of Cleveland, which was the lowest bidder for a job that will start July 10. Federal money will pay the bill.

“The city was awarded a $475,000 grant for site cleanup and historic preservation in 2011,” Mr. Mazur said.

In 2011, the Bell administration and Toledo City Council approved a salvage contract with Acme Dismantling LLC of Toledo to raze part of the former power plant.

In May, 2011, the company imploded part of the plant known as Boiler No. 16. As part of that contract, Acme Dismantling had salvage rights to the steel from the structure.

The previous month, Bell administration official said it would take six to nine months for the entire building to come down and that the site would be cleared in time for the opening of the National Great Lakes Maritime Museum north of the site. The museum opened earlier this year with debris still there.

Mr. Mazur said that the 2011 contract with Acme Dismantling LLC didn’t include clearing the site.

“The city doesn’t feel cheated in any way,” he said. “They paid us $58,000 for the salvage and then we paid them $55,000 to remove some concrete so we are actually ahead $3,000.”

City spokesman Lisa Ward said city officials in 2011, who worked for then-Mayor Mike Bell, thought it was wise to get the building torn down without costing the city any money.

“They were trying to be creative, and a majority of council members supported that,” she said.

Mayor D. Michael Collins envisions a lighthouse-type motif on the remaining smokestack, which will stand at about 198 feet after it is reduced by 100 feet, Ms. Ward said.

Five other companies bid to tear down the two smokestacks and clear the ruble.

Baumann Enterprises Inc. of Garfield Heights, Ohio, submitted a bid of $409,400; Acme Dismantling bid $416,000; Peak Environmental LLC bid $646,000; Independence Excavating of Independence, Ohio, bid $647,000, and Homrich of Carleton, Mich., bid $686,000.

Contact Ignazio Messina at: imessina@theblade.com or 419-724-6171 or on Twitter @IgnazioMessina.