MADISON — It is finally gone.

With the help of a government grant and a bulldozer, there is one less eyesore on Main Street in Madison.

Crews worked all weekend to demolish the charred remains of the Degler Building located next to Hacienda Mexican Restaurant.

“I got tired of looking at it,” Senator Ron Stollings, D-Boone, told the Coal Valley News on Friday evening, when he visited the site with Madison Mayor H.H. "Sonny" Howell Jr.

The senator and mayor watched while workers burned or bulldozed debris into piles for easy cleanup.

“We certainly appreciate Senator Stollings’ help and commend him for getting it done,” Howell added.

A blaze destroyed the building in July. Yellow tarp concealed the mess since then. “No Trespassing” signs also were posted there.

“We watched this for several months and finally took the bull by the horns,” said Stollings, a physician who is a partner with Madison Medical Group.

The property adjoins the United Methodist Church. Stollings and Howell said they think the property once was a home but now belongs to the church.

The West Virginia Economic Development Office provided a $10,000 grant for the project, Stollings said. Of that money, $6,000 was used to tear down the house and $4,000 will be used on future projects, he said.

“These little towns don’t have the high tax base like other towns," Stollings said when a reporter asked him why he took on the challenge of finding money for the project. "The main thing was getting rid of this health hazard.”

Howell said the City of Madison would seek reimbursement from the Degler heirs for the cost of the demolition and cleanup. He said the city would place a lien on the property, which would force the heirs to pay back the money before they can sell it.

Stollings also is trying to secure another grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for future projects, he said.

Stollings and Howell told the Coal Valley News that Main Street has a water drainage problem. When it rains, the water will collect between Dollar General and the Boone-Madison Public Library instead of draining into the nearby Little Coal River, they said.

"When it freezes, it makes for very dangerous conditions,” Stollings said.

The mayor and senator are looking for solutions to correct the problem. Stollings said they are considering prospecting the street for water drains that already exist but have been paved over.

Neither Howell nor Stollings was certain how the land will be used now that the building has been demolished and the property has been cleaned.

One idea is paving the property and using it as a church parking lot. Howell said the church's board members are brainstorming to come up with additional ideas.

Madison resident Rick Edmisten was one of the onlookers Friday. If it were his decision, he would put a laundromat on the property.

Edmisten said people live in more than a dozen upstairs apartments on Main Street that do not provide washer and dryer hookups. Cleaning their clothes requires a drive to Danville, he said.

“There’s no laundry mat in Madison,” Edmisten said.

Contact Joanie Newman at jnewman@coalvalleynews.com or 369-1165.