By SAMANTHA GHOLAR
sgholar@newssun.com
SEBRING - Gingerlee Mitchelllindo sat calmly in her yard Tuesday morning speaking mostly to herself. Unlike the countless other mornings when the 503 E. Center Ave. property owner would directly confront city officials and construction workers, this morning Mitchelllindo could not do much of anything.
Excavation Point Inc. arrived at Mitchelllindo's property early Tuesday morning; before the Sebring Middle School tardy bell had even rang. The demolition team composed of approximately five Excavation Point workers waited calmly in the crisp, cool morning until all the students had crossed Center Avenue and were safely on the school grounds.
The workers were approached by Mitchelllindo in the same manner she approaches anyone who "trespasses" on her property.
"I told them what was going on and that this may cause them more harm than good down the road in the future ... They just said they were here to do their jobs," Mitchelllindo said.
Lee Tolar of Sebring's Building and Zoning Department arrived next. Tolar explained he was sent by City Administrator Scott Noethlich to document and take photos of the demolition. No other city officials were present Tuesday.
Tal Rancourt, owner of Excavation Point Inc., was in and out throughout the morning, overseeing and giving directions for the project. Rancourt was careful not to speak to Mitchelllindo Tuesday, only directing questions through Tolar when necessary.
The fencing was the first to go. Workers cut the chain link fence away from the concrete wall and steel piping with a saw. The piping was also cut and pulled out. A backhoe was used to knock down each pillar of the wall and the base, which sat just on the sidewalk.
Both walls, on Orange Street and Center Avenue, were demolished around the property as well as the sidewalks.
According to Tolar, Rancourt and Excavation Point will add new sidewalks that will be ADA approved. The new sidewalks will fall in line with the current ADA guidelines and provide a ramp for disabled persons utilizing the space.
Noethlich confirmed that new sidewalks will be added to the demolition site.
"They are going to grade it and sod it," Noethlich said. "They will be utilizing the engineering plans of Civil Surv."
The plan to go ahead and do the demolition job during a school week was Rancourt's choice. Excavation Point worked quickly, ensuring that the biggest part of the job - the demolition - was completed before SMS students were out of school.
"This isn't really a big job for him and his crew. It's not like they're having to shut down (highway) 98 or anything like that. It doesn't seem to be a big deal to them. It's slated to be a three-day project. If they don't encounter much difficulty I imagine it could be done in a couple days," Noethlich said.
Mitchelllindo was busy recording the team's work as well as taking photos that she plans to upload onto the Internet and spread to civil rights agencies.
"This is a simple $12,000 job. It has cost them a lot more than that already, I bet. I'm fighting nail and tooth. I'm going to send these videos and photos to civil rights group. I have one who is already interested," Mitchellindo said.
As for the city, Noethlich feels that officials can "breathe" now and that the real challenge is pretty much over.
"Hopefully by Thursday this will all be done and all this can be behind us," Noethlich said.
Wednesday, February 06, 2013 - www.newssun.com/020613-sg-Wall