You Tell Us: What Should Happen to Old Simkins Mill Site?

Nearly six months after at the old Simkins Mill building on River Road by the Patapsco River, Baltimore County has yet to receive a response from the company regarding how the company intended to clean up the 55-acre property.

The December fire drew fire crews from Baltimore and Howard counties and officials said that the mill has been the site of fires and disturbances ever since a huge blaze destroyed most of the mill in 2003, according to an article from the Catonsville Times at that time.

The building dates to the 1820s and was used to make cotton and fabric until it was converted to a paper mill in the late 1920s. It was purchased by Simkins Industries in the 1950s.

Baltimore County Building Engineer Donald Brand said in a letter earlier this month that he has not heard from Simkins officials since mid-January, when Brand exchanged emails with Simkins chief financial officer Anthony Battaglia.

According to Brand's letter, county codes require that a property owner maintain a building.  If the building continues in a state of disrepair, the county can order that the building be razed.

The Simkins Mill is open to the elements and 20 percent of it is deemed unsound, according to Brand's letter. It also presents an eyesore to passing motorists and is vulnerable to vandalism because it is not sealed off, Brand wrote.

Simkins Industries has until July 1 to submit a plan to the county, according to the letter.

You tell us: Should the old mill be razed, or should it be restored?