YOUNGSTOWN Asbestos poses risk; Idora owner liable

The asbestos poses no health hazard as long as it stays wet, an asbestos coordinator said.
By D.A. WILKINSON
and PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITERS
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mount Calvary Pentecostal Church is responsible for the costly cleanup of asbestos at the former Idora Park ballroom, city officials said.
Mike Damiano, the city's deputy director of demolition and housing, and Larry Himes, asbestos coordinator for the Mahoning-Trumbull Air Pollution Control Agency, said they will send letters to the church detailing what must be done.
Damiano said he was going to press for quick removal of the debris left by Monday's fire, which destroyed the ballroom, built in 1910. Mount Calvary acquired the park in 1985.
"I'm not going to let this go on for any length of time," he said.
The church will have until April 1 to begin cleanup efforts, Damiano said.
Damiano said that if the church can't afford the cleanup, it would take his department's entire annual budget to do it.
Mount Calvary spokesmen could not be reached to comment. The church is $6,777 behind in its real-estate taxes on the park. It wasn't clear if the church was making payments. Current taxes of $2,824 are due Friday
Safe removal: Himes will notify the church about the steps that must be taken to safely remove the debris. His agency oversees enforcement of U.S. and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency air pollution rules.
The Youngstown landmark contained 24,000 square feet of asbestos ceiling material, which provided good acoustics for the bands that performed there. The asbestos is now in the debris.
There's no health threat as long as the material stays wet.
"If that [material] sits and dries out, there is potential of fiber release," said Himes.
"It can sit for a certain amount of time. But if it dries out, then it will really be a problem," Damiano added.
No more help: Fire Chief John J. O'Neill Jr. said he is unwilling to have the fire department continue to hose down the rubble to keep it wet.
"I think the owner should be responsible for that. We've asked them to be responsible for that building all along. Our equipment is for emergencies -- not for that sort of operation," he said.
The church will have to hire a contractor certified in asbestos abatement and removal to take away the debris, which will have to be kept wet during removal, Himes said. All the material must be taken in covered or enclosed trucks to a landfill that can accept asbestos. A containment area also must be set up to wash asbestos from the steel in the structure before it is sold for scrap.
The church also will be told to immediately put a fence around the debris, Damiano said.
Vagrants inside: Vagrants had recently been living in the basement of the ballroom, which is where the fire started, said Alvin Ware, the city fire department's arson investigator.
In the past, there was evidence of fires set inside and outside the building, and city officials had feared exactly what has happened.
To avoid the problem, the city recently sought quotes on removing the asbestos while the ballroom was standing. Prices ranged then from $110,000 to $150,000, but they now now could run between $200,000 and $300,000, Damiano said.
That could be more than the value of the entire park.
Mahoning County Auditor's Office records show the 26 acres of the former Idora Park, the ballroom, and the other properties had a market value of $286,700. The ballroom itself was valued at $119,000.
The fire department indicated the loss of the building was $500,000 -- a figure O'Neill said was based upon "a mix of its actual value and historical value."
Ware said the church has not responded to calls on whether the property was insured.
Councilman reacts: Councilman Michael Rapovy, D-5th, told his colleagues Wednesday that it's imperative for the church to launch "an immediate cleanup" of the site and arrange for immediate demolition of the remnants of the Wildcat roller coaster and two adjacent structures.
"If that Wildcat were to catch fire right now, with the woods right next door to it in Mill Creek Park, we'll have a loss that we've never seen before in Youngstown," said Rapovy, whose ward includes Idora Park.
Himes said there were no state or federal cleanup funds readily available. In some cases, a city has seized property in return for undertaking cleanups, Himes said.
Cause undetermined: Ware said that because of the extensive damage, the cause of the blaze will remain undetermined
"It's still open, suspicious, and under investigation. We're definitely looking for any witnesses we can find, anyone that saw anything suspicious," O'Neill said. Anyone with information about the fire is asked to call the arson bureau at (330) 782-0055.