Commission questions cost for Sinclair date block

How much does it cost to move a concrete block that weighs more than a ton?

The city's Historic Preservation Commission questioned the $10,000 price tag attached to moving one date block from the former Sinclair meatpacking plant, 1600 Third Ave. SE, to The Carl and Mary Koehler History Center, 615 First Ave. SE.

At tonight's commission meeting, Sushil Nepal, the commission's staff liaison, said Sinclair demolition contractor D.W. Zinser of Walford moved the 2,500-pound piece of concrete at a cost of $10,000.

John Riggs, the city's project manager for flood demolition, was not at the commission meeting, but told The Gazette that Zinser's contract was amended to include $8,000 to hand-remove the 1929 date block.

Riggs said Zinser workers took several days to chip around the  date block to remove it from the building. The block was transported for free.

Commission members were asked if they wanted to save a 1919 date block from one of the buildings being razed as part of the entire Sinclair site demolition.

The 1929 date block, possibly from the plant's beef kill building, was taken to The History Center earlier this month.

Members asked if the second date block could simply be moved to a safe site on the Sinclair property – for free. That could give the commission more time to see if that date block should be saved.

Chairwoman Maura Pilcher noted the block would otherwise go to the landfill.

Riggs said the 1919 block is still on the site's boiler house and could cost even more to remove. Funding is from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The date blocks are in the pyramid shape used for Sinclair's signature Fidelity brand, but the Sinclair name is not engraved on the blocks. The dates signify what year a particular building was constructed at the plant.

One suggested use was for a marker in the green space that will be created by the plant's demolition.

Twelve structures on the site were considered historic and FEMA has funds available to preserve something from the plant, which was at one time the city's largest employer.

Demolition was completed today on the smokestack, which the commission originally sought to preserve.

Greg Eyerly, the city's flood recovery director, said tests on a small number of exterior bricks from the smokestack came back free of asbestos.

Some of those bricks might be used in the new library or by other groups, he said.