Fears that the main street of Ottawa could turn into a ghost town

Robin Eddy / Staff

Thelma and Keith Froude, with Lindsay Gutsell, to the right, fearful of Main St, Otautau, may become a ghost town with the bases of buildings prone to earthquakes. They were photographed outside of Froude’s Otautau mechanics, which the family has owned for more than 50 years.

A group of owners of buildings on the main streets of Ottawa hope that working together may ease the cost of paying for assessments of earthquake-prone buildings.

They fear that Ottawa, Riverton, Winton and Wyndham will become “ghost towns” as building owners struggle to cover the costs of bringing buildings up to earthquake standards.

One hundred twenty buildings on the main street of the four Southland country towns have been identified as a priority, must be evaluated by an engineer and elevated to seismic standards in 12 and a half years.

Southland County Council Resolution this week endorsed priority areas for high foot and vehicle traffic in the medium seismic hazard zone in which buildings stood.

Read more: * Council members’ inquiries about whether Southland towns can become neighborhoods. * Southland County Council set to proceed with seismic regulation of buildings * A Christchurch businessman has concerns about small Southland towns

Ottawa businessmen Lindsay Gutsell and Keith Froude hope the combination of owners on Main St will reduce the cost of each initial engineer assessment by $ 2,500.

After the initial evaluation, the secondary detailed evaluation may cost up to $ 25,000.

Gutsell rents out a building in the priority area to a hairdresser, and Froude owns and operates Central Garage Otautau with his wife Thelma.

The Froude family has run the company for 50 years, and he and his wife feel the earthquake regulations may be the death of Otautau.

“It will be another ghost town. You will destroy it. This will destroy every small town in Southland,” said Thelma.

Robin Eddy / Staff

Thelma and Keith Froude fear Main Street, Otautau, will become a ghost town with earthquake-prone building bases. They are pictured inside their business in Otautau, which has been owned by the Froude family for more than 50 years.

Freud said that the base of the concrete-walled building that was built 120 years ago has withstood at least three major earthquakes.

“They put us all in one ball, condemning every building and saying we are guilty, and we have to prove our innocence.”

Frustrated that he has to pay appraisal costs to prove his building is up to par.

Freud said: “More people die annually from the stress of running a business, by suicide, than from earthquakes.”

Gotsel said there was a lot of familial and family businesses in the four cities that needed to be protected.

“We don’t want them to become ghost towns like Ohay, Nightcaps,” Gotsel said.

Gotsel said the rules are now in law, so “owners only have to do what we have to do.”

Building and Construction Minister Bhutto Williams said the earthquake-prone building system ultimately aims to protect lives.

Williams said the time frames balanced the risks to the building’s life safety with providing the owners a reasonable amount of time to plan, finance, and undertake the repair of the building.

John Kirk Anderson / Staff

His Excellency Bhutto Williams, Minister of Building and Construction.

She said the impact of the earthquake-prone system on small towns and low-lying socio-economic areas was taken into account during its development from 2012-2016.

The best way to reduce costs, Williams said, is to allow building owners an appropriate period of time to address safety risks in their buildings.

“With this in mind, building owners in medium seismic risk areas have 12.5 years to comply with priority buildings, and 25 years for other buildings.”

This, she said, gave building owners time to make decisions about how to reach compliance.

Help was available at [crown entity] Her heritage equipment and building.govt.nz.

Peter and Rachel Davey sell used decor from their main Riverton Street store, which was used as a fire station.

The couple moved out of Ōpōtiki four years ago, after repairing an earthquake-prone building there.

Blair Jackson / Staff

Rachel and Peter Davy, in front of their Riverton store that will have to be evaluated and believe they require a small amount of labor to be purchased by seismic criteria.

They will pay for the initial report and whatever work needs to be done, but they fear others can’t.

“People here can’t afford that kind of money,” said Rachel, who was originally from Matura.

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos