HELEN — Helen officials have been hearing a lot of concerns about the status of repairs to Wilder Forest, a condominium complex heavily damaged by fire earlier this year.
Four of the six condo units at 327 Bruckenstrasse were heavily damaged during a fire reported at 3:24 a.m. Jan. 22.
Wilder Forest Condominium Association, Inc., Chief Executive Officer Marion Edwards-Drost attended the meeting, along with representative Judith Vickers, CEO of BenchMark Public Adjusting Group. Also in attendance was Ray Payne, adjuster for Auto Owners Insurance.
Vickers said preliminary demolition was conducted to allow an engine hired by Auto Owners to inspect the structural integrity of fire walls.
Demolition on the most damaged units will resume Monday, April 11, Vickers said.
Commissioner Jeff Ash said he asked Wilder Forest and insurance officials to attend Tuesday's city commission meeting.
"I was very pleased for the insurance adjuster, as well as legal counsel for the [property owners' association] of Wilder Forest to come and give us a timeline," Ash said. "It's been two or three months and you see a building that the roof's half on and half off, these building will deteriorate very quickly."
Ash reiterated the displaced families and also pointed to the city approaching its busy time.
"Tourist season is coming up and you just cannot have a blighted area in a community this small," Ash said. "So therefore I'm very appreciative that they took the time out to come give us a definitive timeline, which begins April 11. And trust me, we'll be monitoring that very closely — not only for the city, but for that residential community."
