Red-tag list cut to 2 buildings

City status list's numerous changes a source of confusion

JOHN DODGE, THE OLYMPIAN

OLYMPIA -- The list of earthquake-damaged buildings in downtown Olympia that have been red-tagged as unsafe to enter was pared from 13 to two Monday.

Only 210 Thurston Ave. N.E., home to Second Use Building Materials, and Skookum Bay Outfitters at 518 Capitol Way S. remained off limits to all.

An additional 43 structures -- including homes, businesses, offices and schools -- remained yellow-tagged, or safe only for limited entry, because of damage suffered when the 6.8 magnitude Ash Wednesday quake rocked South Sound.

But it also became clear that the city's building status listings were causing almost as much concern as they were alleviating. That's because some businesses found themselves mistakenly listed as closed when they were open.

The confusion stemmed from the city's constantly changing list of red-tagged and yellow-tagged businesses.

For instance, Radiance Herbs & Massage on Fifth Avenue and Ramblin Jack's restaurant on Fourth Avenue were listed as not safe for occupancy. However, both were open for business Monday.

A cornice on the northeast corner of Ramblin Jack's building is cracked and needs repair, but the restaurant has passed inspections and been open since Thursday morning, owner Adam Adrian said.

Radiance received a clean bill of health Friday night but was still on the limited entry list the city released over the weekend.

"It's hard for small businesses to deal with the confusion when customers wonder if the building is safe," Radiance clerk Kay Atwood said.

Store owners installed a big, bright "OPEN" sign in the front window Monday, just to clear the air.

Ken Black, director of the city's office of community development, called the situation "just a miscommunication problem."

In some cases, city personnel didn't use the latest information from building inspectors before releasing the list, he said.

In other cases, different portions of a building can be tagged differently, leading to confusion, said Subir Mukerjee, city director of planning and community development.

Four state office buildings on the Capitol Campus were either red- or yellow-tagged on the city list published Monday, even though they had been cleared Monday for occupancy by the state, said Marsha Tadano Long, director of the state Department of General Administration.

"Those buildings were tagged by our inspectors, then the state took over inspections," Mukerjee said. Apparently, the list was not updated after the switch from city to state inspectors, he said.

There also was a case where the building housing Batdorf & Bronson Roasters coffee shop on Capitol Way was yellow-tagged for limited entry, but has been open for business since three hours after the earthquake.

"Nobody told us and nobody can tell us when we were tagged," store manager Brian Meyers said Monday. By late afternoon, Meyers said the city had lifted the limited entry status.

Panowicz Jewelers at Fifth Avenue and Capitol Way had a huge sign in the window reminding shoppers the store was open, as well as a red carpet ushering folks from the sidewalk into the store.

The jewelry store came through the quake in good shape but is sandwiched between two buildings that suffered extensive damage: Skookum Bay Outfitters and Washington Federal Savings.

"I hope it's clear to our customers that everything is normal in the store," Rob Panowicz said.

But at some downtown sites, things were far from normal.

At 210 Thurston Ave., the quake had caused the top of the brick storefront to collapse into the street, crushing a company flatbed truck.

"It's repairable, but it's going to be weeks," business owner Scott Royer said of the building.

Royer hopes to relocate to temporary quarters by the end of the week.

Four buildings were removed from the limited entry list Monday, including Drees gift shop on Washington Street. The shop reopened to the public about 3:30 p.m. after repair work to a wall.

Store owner Ruthann Goularte credited city officials with a job well done under trying circumstances.

"I have no problems with the confusion," she said. "You just have to take it one day at a time."

City inspectors have faced an overwhelming workload, inspecting more than 300 buildings since the earthquake struck, said city spokeswoman Cathie Butler.

There may be some cases where a private structural engineer has deemed a building safe, but the final inspection by a city building official hasn't occurred, Butler said.

Only the city building official can change the status of a building. Occupancy of red- or yellow-tagged structures without city approval is at the risk of the property owner or resident, she said.

John Dodge writes for The Olympian. He can be reached at 754-5444.

On the web:

City of Olympia.

The Olympian Copyright 2000

back to main Earthquake Stories index