Weeks after fire, historic Hotel Marysville now found to have asbestos
MARYSVILLE — It's been weeks since the historic Hotel Marysville caught fire, impacting traffic and several area businesses.
The City of Marysville said that they also discovered the inside of the hotel is an asbestos danger zone adding to the already delicate situation.
City officials say they've continuously discussed with the hotel's owner about how to move forward.
"We haven't been able to operate as normal in probably the last three weeks since this has happened," said Edible Memories bakery owner Denise Landis.
Hotel Marysville is at risk of collapsing due to the fire. Roads around it have been closed down as a safety precaution.
Landis' bakery is on 3rd Street, right where all the freeway traffic is getting diverted.
"The stop-and-go traffic is really off-putting to our customers," she said. "Our clientele are moms and the older crowd so trying to find parking is one thing, but also trying to cross the street. We have cones all up and down our parking."
Jim Schaad, Marysville's city manager, said the price tag for demolishing the hotel is between $2.5 and 5 million.
"Well, there's asbestos in the building, so the asbestos needs to be abated as well," Schaad said.
He added that they're still combing through options with the hotel's owner but the city filed a complaint for declaratory relief to establish who pays for and removes the asbestos.
The hotel owner's representative is out of town and couldn't be reached for comment.
"I've been here since '83. It's been an eyesore since before then," said Dan Walker, who lives nearby. "I'd love to see it disappear and something put up in its place."
The hold-up is the danger the building poses. According to a report received by the city, the building could collapse with little to no warning and would send asbestos flying through the air.
Schaad said one option the city is discussing is to keep water on the building during the demolition process to prevent it from being airborne and haul everything off to a hazardous wasteland.
They're also still deciding if the building is salvageable or not.
"I say tear it down and put something usable there," Walker said. "Let's revitalize the entire downtown area."
"Why not just get rid of the thing already?" Landis said. "That way we can go back to normal in some kind of shape or form and then continue to build down here. Get it out, get it down. Help us get back to life."
Schaad said an engineering report is due this Friday so they'll have a better sense of direction then.