Dilapidated structures officer presented state award for Mercer demolitions

Oct. 30—princeton — Efforts to eliminate scores of Mercer County's dilapidated structures was recognized this week when the county's dilapidated structures officer was presented the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection's first Ready, Set, Demo Award.

Lori Mills, Mercer County's dilapidated structures officer, said Tuesday that she was presented the Ready, Set, Demo Award during a DEP conference Monday in Canaan Valley. In 2023, Mercer County was awarded at $1.5 million demolitions grant from the DEP. The grant was used to pay for the demolition of 174 dilapidated structures across the county.

"It feels really good to receive the award, but even more than that I'm just really proud of what Mercer County has been able to accomplish in the last three and a half years," Mills said. "Three and a half years ago, we had no dilapidated structures ordinance and no way to tackle all of the structures that needed to come down and since that time have been able to rise to number one in the state."

Other counties across the state are now looking at Mercer County's demolition program as an example for starting their own.

"Mercer County has kind of become the helper to other counties that are new to the process," Mills said. "We've helped out with Mason County, Summers County and Marshall County; just basically helping them with the process of what they need to do to get started."

Mills said that she was not alone in making the county's dilapidated structures program a success.

"But it takes a village," she said. "I have to give thanks to all the folks that made getting this grant funding possible: the state auditor, our senators, everyone at the REAP program and, of course, the three Mercer County Commissioners and the county administrator as well as the dilapidated structures committee. Their support made it much easier to build the demo program. And, of course, our contractors. We are blessed with great demo contractors who get the job done in a fast and efficient manner."

The contractors Empire Salvage and the Reclaim Company have been demolishing structures across the county and hauling away the resulting debris.

Mills said her family has been supportive while she worked the long hours needed to manage the demolitions program.

"Of course, I want to thank my family," she said. "There's been a lot of early mornings and late evenings, working sometimes even on the weekends; and my husband, Jeff, and son, Jake, are always understanding when I can't be there to cook dinner or clean house or go places they want to go. There's been times over these last few years when they haven't seen me a lot."

Last January, the state Department of Environmental Protection awarded Mercer County a $750,000 demolitions grant. County residents and residents in the town of Athens, Bramwell and Oakvale can apply for demolition grants.

Mills said applications are available on the door of her office in the Memorial Building located at 1500 West Main Street in Princeton near the Mercer County Courthouse. Residents can also contact Mills at lori.mills@mercercountywv.org and ask her to email them an application.

Under the $750,000 DEP grant, a three-year lien is placed on homes and buildings, but this lien is forgiven after three years, Mills said. The DEP also requires partial fees for mobile home demolitions.

This flat-rate fee is $500 for a single-wide mobile home and $1,000 for a double-wide structure. Demolishing a single-wide mobile home and having the debris hauled away usually cost around $1,500.

"We're still taking applications and I can't stress enough for people not to procrastinate," Mills said. "Just come on in and get an application. It's super easy to fill out and we don't know if we're going to get any additional funding, so while we have it we need to use it. And I'll be starting on 62 structures Thursday. The next batch will be bid out at the end of December and I already have 22 applications for that group."

Contact Greg Jordan at

gjordan@bdtonline.com

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com