On Tuesday, approval was given for a bid to demolish buildings on three flood buyout lots, including the fire-damaged former Flamingo Diner and now closed Elite Club 4 Play Gentlemen’s Club on Route 11 in Plymouth Township.
The buyouts and demolitions are part of a flood mitigation program funded by the federal government and overseen by the Luzerne County Flood Authority, which is related to the completion of the Wyoming Valley Levee-raising project in the early 2000s.
The authority board members decided on Tuesday to give the $75,000 contract for demolition and site stabilization to A.R. Popple Trucking and Excavating in Kingston Township, the lowest bidder. Deputy Director Laura Holbrook mentioned that the structures should be taken down by the end of May.
A parcel at 175 Route 11 includes three buildings — the former Flamingo Diner, which was significantly damaged by fire in January 2020, the Riverview Inn, and a multi-unit residential building.
Located at 94 W. Poplar Street and also listed as 165 Route 11, the second parcel contains the former strip club. The establishment was previously known as the Tilbury Inn and later the Carousel Club, according to previous reports.
The remaining buyout property is a residential building at 95-97 Italy St. in the Mocanaqua section of Conyngham Township.
All properties were affected by record Susquehanna River flooding in September 2011, according to Holbrook, who noted that the Riverview Inn and Elite Club 4 Play property were completely submerged.
Government entities must agree to own and maintain purchased properties and ensure they remain undeveloped.
Levee wall
The authority board also approved a $158,000 contract with Solid Wall LLC to replace aging expansion joints on the 1.46-mile levee stretch between the county courthouse and the intersection of Riverside Drive and Pickering Street in Wilkes-Barre.
This levee section contains nearly 21,000 linear feet of expansion joints that are two decades old and at the end of normal service life. The sealant-filled joints allow the levee concrete cover to expand and contract and prevent cracks.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had identified the joints as a deficiency in past levee inspections, said authority Executive Director Christopher Belleman.
Belleman said he thoroughly vetted the Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania-based Solid Wall, which was the low bidder, and received only positive reviews.
This work will be funded by the county council’s February 2022 American Rescue Plan allocation of up to $8 million for flood authority projects.
Levee maintenance garage
Another project funded by the American Rescue Plan is close to completion — rehabilitation of a structure acquired by the authority from Hanover Township to be used as a maintenance garage for the downstream levee, storing grass-cutting equipment and levee electrical components, as stated by Belleman.
This Delaney Street property will expedite levee maintenance in the township, Plymouth, and Wilkes-Barre, as it allows crews to work from the Forty Fort maintenance garage.
A UGI gas line is set to be installed in the first week of April, so the building should be ready for people to move in by mid- to late April, according to Belleman.
If everything goes as planned, the authority board might have its April 16 meeting in the building and also have a ribbon-cutting event.
