FULLERTON : City Plans to Work on Depot if Firm Doesn’t

A local contractor has not satisfactorily restored a historic building, and city officials plan to do the work themselves, the executive director of the Redevelopment Agency said.

City Council members, acting as the Redevelopment Agency, last week gave Executive Director Gary A. Chalupsky authority to take “necessary measures” to correct the problem, he said.

Chalupsky said Bushala Bros. Inc. soon will be served with a notice, warning that the city will send crews to the Fullerton Depot to redo the restoration work on the historic place unless the company does the work within 30 days.

The city has an agreement requiring Bushala Bros. to rehabilitate the old, 5,000-square-foot Santa Fe freight station. Bushala Bros. also would pay $861 per month in rent for the building, which they, in turn, would rent for a profit to Amtrak, the Santa Fe Cafe and several businesses.

The company has said that the rehabilitation work it has done does meet specifications set by the city when Bushala Bros. signed the agreement, Chalupsky said.

“Their position is that they are finished,” he said. “Our position is that the job is not complete and that there are some problems of poor quality. I’m not talking about shabby work, but the requirement was that the rehabilitation is to meet national historic preservation standards, and it doesn’t.”

Bushala Bros. officials have refused to comment.

Chalupsky said the cost for the work, which includes replastering and repainting the building and upgrading the roof, could exceed $100,000. He said Bushala Bros. will be billed for the city’s work. If the bill is not paid, he said, legal action will be taken.