I would agree that a demolition and clean up would be the best solution. I would hope that the other sites that have been left for too long would also be dealt with in a timely fashion. These types of eyesores are killing any potential development from others. Chester

Now that is settled, light it up again. This time it is a controlled burn with all the utilities disconnected. It should make a nice burn to warm up beside on a cool September night.

So how come the other burned out building at 2nd and Quebec isn't undergoing the same scrutiny? Because no one died? Is the City afraid to be sued if they force it down? It's been sitting for ages and is COMPLETELY UNSAFE. There is broken glass still littering the side of the building in the alley. You can easily climb over all the remnants of someone's contents and get inside. A flock of pigeons lives there now. Get on with it!

No doubt, leaderless, for sure another example of our feckless leaders and their non decision making process. Obviously the building at 2nd and Quebec is not in danger of falling in or over, but it is an incredible eyesore and a waste of space, there could be a carpark there for now, until some brave soul decides to erect a new structure (not likely, in our downtown)
The downtown of P.G. is starting to resemble downtown Belfast Northern Ireland, with it's bombed out craters that used to be buildings. And for Pete's sake, give the embattled owner of the Columbus more than seven bloody days to demolish the remains of his building, that is plain unreasonable. Oh, and how about putting a little of the same pressure on the B&B Music to either re-build, or fill in the hole and plant a tree, maybe give the street people a little lawn to relax on.
metalman.

"The owner of the building has not indicated there was any intent to ignore the remains, and the City has already indicated there has been no such problem, but there is a process that needs to be put in place to ensure the shell is demolished, and the action approved by Council this evening puts that process in motion should something happen and the owner opt not to deal with the mess."
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If the owner refuses to deal with it and leaves the taxpayer holding the bag then the owners need to be locked up.
The insurance money collected by the owner should automatically come into play for this exact purpose and it should be illegal for any owner to walk away from this type of situation.

I just read in the local rag that the ownership of the Columbus is uncertain, what a conundrum. The winning bidder of the tax delinquent property probably does not want to pay for clean up, but will the present owner pony up? and maybe pay his tax bill? Was the structure insured against fire? Can the city force the insurance co. to pay the delinquent taxes, and maybe the clean up costs too? These are interesting times indeed.
me-tal-man

Do you think this has anything to do with the parking lot the City owns where all the debris is piled up? Lost revenue from the monthly stall rentals??