After receiving calls and Facebook notifications about the Sterling ZipMart, Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche is taking steps to remove the collapsing building in Sterling.
Sterling Zip Mart operated as a fueling station in 1985 and was operated by the current owners, Whittier Properties, from April of 1990 to December of 2000.
According to the State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conversation, The ZipMart facility closed for business in 2000 and a subsequent release investigation was performed in 2001. During the investigation, contamination was identified in several soil borings and groundwater monitoring wells. Several of the monitoring wells had up to 13 inches of free product. Based on this investigation and fuel inventory records, it was estimated that 53,000 gallons of fuel released to the environment from a break in the tanks fill pipe. Whittier Properties investigated the extent of contamination in 2001; however, the extent of was too large and they were unable or unwilling to continue.
Mayor Micciche update the status of the removal of the safety hazard in Sterling;
“We’ve expedited its normal process, which is harder to do than you think, but we are introducing the ordinances on the 6th, which is on Tuesday declaring the building a health hazard and public nuisance and then condemning the building. And we’ll have the ordinance structure in place so that it can be removed after the June 20th hearings. If it passes, and I assume that it will, John Hedges will have a contract in place for who will be removing that It’s out to bid right now and somewhere around 6/21 that building will disappear.”
The Kenai Peninsula Borough will only be removing the structure according to Mayor Micciche;
“And you’ll see that when the borough is complete, that the slab will remain. We are not disturbing the soil, we’re removing the hazard, so we’ll cap off any penetrations in the slab and then we’ll walk away. At some point we may take possession, foreclose on that property. There’s 65,000 in back taxes, which will grow every year. Of course, the value of the building is dramatically reduced since it’s collapsed. We’ll eliminate that hazard and I want to thank the people of Sterling, that not only brought it to my attention early on, but of course the Assembly and folks in the building that are going to be responsible for seeing it go away.”
According to Mayor Micciche, the Kenai Peninsula Borough will absorb the cost of the demolition and the costs involved in the foreclosure of the property.