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SHELBY – It’s been more than eight years since the former Napoli’s Pizza building on West Main Street was demolished due to structural failure, an effort funded with public money.
However, the City of Shelby has only received a fraction of the money owed by Napoli’s owner Greg Beard, according to Brian Crum, Shelby’s director of finance and public record.
Crum, elected by Shelby voters in 2020, said he’s never seen any payments made by Beard to the city during his time as finance director.
“As far as I know, (payments) have not happened,” he said. “If anything, he may have made a couple payments.”
Amy Hamrick, Richland County Land Bank manager, said no money has been received from Beard to date.
“There’s been no attempt whatsoever by him (Beard) to cover any of it,” she said.
Beard ‘lost everything’
Vacating the building meant Beard was forced to leave the place where he lived and worked for almost 35 years.
Beard said after the demolition, he waited six months before hearing he wouldn’t receive any financial assistance from his insurance company.
“I didn’t have the money (for demolition) because I lost everything,” he said. “People were thinking that I got it (insurance funds), I said, ‘No I never got any.'”
In January 2016, Beard was able to re-open a new Napoli’s Pizza location at 126 Broadway St., but said his business took a hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic and low staffing levels.
Beard, 65, said the work is becoming difficult to keep up with, as Napoli’s approaches 43 years of serving the Shelby community this February.
“Every time I turn around there’s someone who’s been a little longer in business, but they’ve been retired for a while,” he said. “Me, I can’t. I lost everything.”
Despite the challenges, Beard said he’s determined to find new ways of supporting his business while serving customers.
“I’m trying to figure out different things to do,” he said. “I don’t mind working. I like seeing people.”
Napoli’s Pizza building officially condemned
The building, constructed in 1896, was condemned on Sept. 1, 2015, after a steel column supporting the northeast corner of the building failed.
On Sept. 11, 2015, Shelby Mayor Steve Schag entered into a demolition contract with the Richland County Land Bank and Page Excavating, Inc. for a total of $95,000 to bring the building down.
Shelby, Richland County Land Bank cover Napoli’s Pizza demolition cost
The demolition cost was split evenly between the City of Shelby and the Richland County Land Bank, with each contributing $47,500.
Schag then signed a demolition agreement between the city of Shelby, the Land Bank and Beard to allow the building to be torn down as quickly as possible.
Page Excavating, Inc. officially demolished the building in about six hours on Sept. 12, 2015.
Beard transfers deed, agrees to payment plan
A resolution, passed in April 2016 by Shelby City Council, allowed the city to acquire the title to the former Napoli’s parcel of real estate for use as municipal property.
Additionally, Beard received a $7,500 credit toward his total debt owed for agreeing to transfer the deed of his former property to the city.
Furthermore, the city accepted a cognovit note from Beard, acknowledging his debt to the city of Shelby with the understanding that if the debt is not repaid, a court may order a judgment against Beard without the usual notice or hearing.
The cognovit note between Beard and the city of Shelby states that he agrees to pay the city $40,000 at 3 percent interest over 17 years.
Payments were scheduled to begin on June 1, 2016 at $250.55 per month.
No payments made since January 2017
More than seven years later, neither the city of Shelby nor the Richland County Land Bank have received regularly scheduled payments as agreed upon with Beard.
“There haven’t been payments made in a long time, if any were ever made,” Crum said. “(The demolition cost) just ends up being on the city and the Land Bank’s dime.”
Amber Cutlip, Shelby’s deputy director of finance and public record, said some payments were made early on, but none recently. Cutlip joined the finance department around 2018.
According to city records, Beard made six payments totaling $1,531 to the city of Shelby between Aug. 12, 2016 and Jan. 24, 2017.
Beard said to make payments, he’d need luck or to hit the lottery.
“I pretty much do it (work) by myself,” Beard said. “It’s (Napoli’s Pizza) the only livelihood I have.”
Crum said despite feeling stuck when it comes to collecting demolition repayment, the plot of downtown real estate has become a positive use of land for the city.
“The property has become a park,” he said. “There’s some benefit to the citizens out of it.”