Residents of East Rockingham are almost rid of the eye sore that was Safie Mill. As of Wednesday, only a sliver of the old water tower remained. Now what’s left is cleaning up the debris.

“I looked around and a lot of people had stopped by to watch the demolition,” said James Armstrong, Richmond County’s planning director. “I jokingly told him that he should be charging admission. I stood out there from 7:15 to about 8:30 p.m.”

“He just has one corner left there, it shouldn’t take much to get it down,” Armstrong said. “Technically he has gone beyond the date of the permit, but, since he is doing the work we will let him keep going.”

Cleanup isn’t going as fast for another mill site just down the street on Biltmore Drive and Mill Road. The owner, Nicholas Kukulinski, had taken some time off before getting back to work.

There is no specific number of people that are required to work on the site.

“We did what we said we would do,” Kukulinski said in a previous interview.

He did write a letter to the county, giving them a notice that he would take off eight months from working on the mill, due to lack of help and funds.

“He did let us know, that he would be taking time off from the demolition, and the building permit is good for 12 months,” said Gary Williams, Richmond County building inspector.

Kukulinski said he had fired all but two of his workers since April due to the economy.

“He bought the place, he could do it all if he wanted to,” Williams said.

A former employee of Kukulinski said he knows why the process took so long.

“He’s not tearing it down because it’s an eyesore, he is tearing it down for the profit,” said Edward Williams of Lilesville. “I am tired of the way the building looks.”

He estimates that just the copper from the building alone is worth more than $400,000 and the boards are also very valuable.

The new limitations on permits will be able to stop the minimal demolition on some of the areas. If a permit is granted, the work needs to be done within the first six months or it will void the permit.

Hollie Nivens can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 19 or by e-mailing at hnivens@yourdailyjournal.com