City leaders respond after debris crashes onto sidewalk and road during demolition

BLACKFOOT — Debris crashing onto a sidewalk and road near a Blackfoot building being demolished caused much concern among the public and now city officials say proper safety protocols were not followed.

The demolition of the building once occupied by Melina’s Mexican Food on Main Street took place Wednesday. Videos of the structure being torn down were posted on Facebook and show caution tape had been put around the perimeter of the building on the sidewalk, but debris fell down into the street, which was not blocked off.

“I could not believe that an operation like that had taken place with such little apparent concern for the public,” Mayor Marc Carroll told EastIdahoNews.com Friday.

While there were no reports of injuries or property being damaged, many members of the public expressed concern for the lack of safety measures.

“Anyone witnessing this video would be astonished at the near miss accident potential from fallen and flying debris,” a news release from the city of Blackfoot says.

A Maverik gas station is being built where the restaurant once stood and the convenience store operator hired Pocatello-based RS Jobber Inc. for the demolition, according to Carroll.

EastIdahoNews.com contacted RS Jobber and Maverik Friday but neither company responded before this story was published.

Carroll said Maverik, RS Jobber and city workers met Wednesday to discuss the situation and mistakes that were made.

“It was a very good and productive meeting. Everybody was very open. We told them what we thought about the work and what the potential consequences were and they agreed 100%,” Carroll said.

Carroll said the city erred in not ensuring appropriate written plans were in place before the demolition started.

“We identified issues with the demolition permit process, the lack of a safety plan, lack of a traffic control plan and generally insufficient communications between the contractor and the city,” the news release said.

Contractors are required by city code to have a safety plan, traffic management plan, a pedestrian protection plan, if applicable, and be able to protect adjoining property.

Carroll said the demolition permit was issued before the contractor had these plans in place. RS Jobber was supposed to turn these plans into the permit office, but started work before that was completed.

The city has been in the process of implementing a new demolition permit process which requires these plans to be in hand before the permit is granted. This policy goes into effect on Monday.

“We certainly recognize the shortcomings in that process and it will never happen again,” Carroll said.

Carroll said no official complaints have been filed with the city about the demolition but Maverik is working with Lee’s Service & Exhaust Specialists, a neighboring business, to replace a fence that was damaged, according to owner Layne Herbst.

Carroll said city leaders are relieved no one was injured during the demolition process.

“Our interest in any kind of a permit is the safety of the person doing the work and the safety of any individual who happens to be around that work. We’re very, very thankful nobody got injured or hurt in this particular situation,” Carroll said.