The city council approved a settlement concerning the future of the Rip Van Dam building's rear wing in a special meeting on Monday, June 25. On Tuesday, work to stabilize the deteriorating wall had begun.

Mayor Valerie Keehn said the agreement stipulates all lawsuits will be dropped, and that developer Bruce Levinsky will reimburse the city the sum of $22,500. The demolition of the collapsing area is set to take place in October and be completed within a 90-day period.

Keehn said there was no argument on the part of the council on this issue at all.

"I'm happy with the resolution," she said. "We can finally put this behind us."

Public Safety Commissioner Ron Kim believes the stabilization of the wall will take 10-14 days to complete. Kim said if Levinsky doesn't comply with the new schedule for the stabilization and demolition, there's a provision in the agreement that the building be shut down.

Kim said the whole experience has taken between a year and year-and-a-half to get to this point. His chief concern during the process has been ensuring the building wasn't a hazard to the public.

"This (resolution) is good for everybody involved and for the taxpayers," Kim said. "I'm keeping my fingers crossed. We'll finally let this thing die and have a decent burial."

Levinsky, president of Merlin Development, said he's been trying to demolish the rear wing for a decade, but has been held back by requirements presented by the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation and the city's Design Review Commission. His application to demolish the building was approved March 29, but he said the original deadline wasn't enough time.

"Everyone finally found enough common ground to come together," he said.

Levinsky said the matter will not be over until the building has been stabilized and they finish the controlled demolition of it into a parking lot.

Carrie Woerner, executive director of the Preservation Foundation, said she's pleased the stalemate is over and the building will be stabilized for the summer, but believes allowing a parking lot to replace a historic building is unacceptable. If a building can't be preserved, Woerner said there's a legal requirement to replace it with a structure that complements the historic district and meets the zoning requirements.

According to a statement on www.saratogapreservation.org, "This decision was inevitable. The historic building, which had once been handsome, functioning and profitable, had become an eyesore, and few in the community could see its value. The rear wing of the Rip Van Dam is an example of what happens when extreme deterioration is allowed to persist."

Woerner believes the rear wing of the building, which dates back at least 150 years, still had lot of potential to be rehabilitated and used. To raise awareness of the need for preservation and its enforcement, she said the foundation is trying to get a neighborhood preservation ordinance passed.