2-18-15 Connecticut:NEWTOWN -- A construction company with ties to Newtown has offered to demolish Adam Lanza's home at no cost, First Selectwoman Pat Llodra announced Tuesday.
Representatives from Plainville-based Manafort Brothers are expected to meet with town officials this week to discuss the details and possibly set a demolition date for the 36 Yogananda St. property, the home where Lanza lived with his mother before he took her life and killed 20 students and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Llodra said several Manafort employees live in Newtown, which helped encourage the company to make the offer.
Prior to Manafort's proposal, the town was planning to pay about $30,000 for demolition with money from a special insurance fund dedicated to costs associated with the Dec. 14, 2012, shooting. The fund was used in the demolition of the Sandy Hook Elementary School in late 2013.
Representatives of Manafort could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.
Llodra's announcement came minutes after residents at a special town meeting voted 6-0 to authorize the Board of Selectmen to proceed with the demolition plan.
Newtown resident Phil Carroll said this is the wish of the Yogananda neighborhood.
"After hearing what everyone had to say about this place and because of where that house is," he said at the meeting, "it is the consensus that they want the place torn down."
The Board of Selectmen recommended the demolition last month after pleas from several neighbors who said the house reminds them of the Sandy Hook tragedy. The board consulted Lanza's neighbors and the families of his victims, all of whom agreed on the fate of the house, Llodra said.
"It's the right thing to do with the property, especially for the neighbors who live in the area," said Eric Paradis, another Newtown resident.
The Legislative Council approved the demolition about a month ago.
The town took ownership of the Colonial-style home in December, after the bank that held the mortgage turned over the deed to the town at no cost. The 3,100-square-foot house sits on two acres and is appraised at $523,000.
Paradis urged the selectmen to ensure no remnants of the house end up being sold. Llodra said she would take any measures necessary to prevent exploitation of building artifacts.
As to what to do with the land, Llodra said about 30 residents wrote recommendations to her office in recent days. One person suggested the house be used as a fire drill before the demolition, an action Llodra said would be "scary" and would "attract a lot of attention."
Several other people asked the town not to demolish the house and, instead, use it for some sort of charity workspace. Llodra said the suggestion "did not align well with the sentiment" of the neighbors and families of the victims.
The short-term plan for property is to keep it as an open space.
"We're trying to make a near-term decision and not lock ourselves into a long-term action," Llodra said. "As time goes on, what options are appropriate will evolve."
Regardless of the fate of the property, she said she wants to "memorialize our intent" that any economic benefit from the future sale of the land is used for the families of the victims, an idea which Llodra said the town likely would add on the deed of the property.
"Perhaps more important than who the property might eventually benefit," Selectman William
Rodgers said, "is who it's never going to benefit, which is the town." ..Source.. by Nelson Oliveira
Construction firm offers to demolish Newtown school shooter's at no cost, saving town $30,000
NEWTOWN, Connecticut — A construction company has offered to demolish at no cost the Newtown home of the Sandy Hook school shooter, a town official said Tuesday.
Representatives of Manafort Brothers are expected to meet with town officials this week to discuss the details and possibly set a date to demolish the house where Adam Lanza and his mother, Nancy, lived, The News-Times reports (http://bit.ly/1EnyfE0 ).
Newtown First Selectwoman Pat Llodra said Manafort Brothers made the offer in part because several employees live in the town.
Lanza killed his mother on Dec. 14, 2012, before heading to Sandy Hook Elementary School where he fatally shot 20 students and six educators and then committed suicide.
Manafort's offer would save about $30,000 Newtown planned to spend from an insurance fund set aside for costs associated with the shootings. The fund was used to demolish the Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2013.
A representative of Manafort did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
The town took ownership of the Colonial-style home in December, after the bank that held the mortgage turned over the deed to the town, also at no cost. The 3,100-square-foot house is on 2 acres and is appraised at $523,000.
The Board of Selectmen recommended the demolition last month after several neighbors said the house reminds them of the Sandy Hook tragedy. The board consulted Lanza's neighbors and families of his victims and all agreed the house should go, Llodra said.
The town has no immediate plans for the property once it's vacant. "As time goes on, what options are appropriate will evolve," Llodra said. ..Source.. by The Republic
