I completely forgot to mention this, but there was a pull-test performed this morning on bolts that were sunk into the mortar of City Hall. This was a test to determine pull-out loads for the structural engineer working on the analysis for putting solar panels on Ypsilanti’s City Hall.

Sadly, the pull-test failed and a sizeable portion of the back wall of City Hall collapsed.

The test needed one thousand pounds at a minimum in order for a robust design. The results were even better than expected with results exceeding two thousand pounds.

It looks like this will be back on the Historic District Commissions agenda for a final showdown on July 8th. The cost of hiring a structural engineer, hiring a test engineer, and actual solar panel themselves taken care of, the meeting will be rather interesting.

UPDATE:
No portion of City Hall actually collapsed. That was simply bad information I received after reading a similar report at YpsiNews.com.