Heilig-Meyers Fire: One Year After
Debris-Littered Remains Still Standing
LOCK HAVEN – The remains remain as they were, one year after a pre-dawn fire gutted a vacant 37-41 Bellefonte Avenue structure. The former Heilig-Meyers furniture store sits as it was after dozens of firemen contained the blaze on Dec. 14, 2016 and the adjacent Willard’s Alley remains strewn with charred wood and closed. And the nearby Covenant United Methodist Church has not been able to fully complete repairs to the rear of its building because of its close proximity to the gutted structure.
The City of Lock Haven has been in a dialogue over the past year with property owner Dave Mayes who missed an August deadline to submit plans for repairs. The City subsequently obtained the services of special counsel on how to proceed. Assistant city manager Greg Wilson on Thursday told therecord-online that City Hall is moving ahead with discussions with its attorney on the next steps which he said will be taken shortly.
Wilson said those steps “likely” will be an order of demolition and the owner would have 15 days to comply; otherwise, Wilson said, the city will proceed with the demolition, the property owner responsible for the costs.
