■ After Sunday temblor, Solano County declares state of emergency; First Street Benicia building ‘sinking’

Solano County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to declare the county in a state of emergency after Sunday’s magnitude 6.0 earthquake in Napa.

County Administrator Birgitta E. Corsello initially proclaimed a local emergency after the earthquake, but because of the scale of the damage local resources are no longer adequate to cope with the conditions the event caused, County Counsel Dennis Bunting wrote in a report to the board.

Bunting wrote that property damage to county buildings in Vallejo alone is estimated at $750,000, and county staff has been told that “there is substantial private property damage to more than 50 buildings within the city of Vallejo.”

Vallejo may have up to 70 buildings damaged, according to other reports.

In Benicia, a late 1800s-era building that appears to be tilting can be saved, said Phil Joy, the house mover who has braced 901 First St. — Benicia’s most prominent earthquake-damaged structure — until it can be fixed.

Previously, Joy had installed another brace inside the building, which he said has had some “Band-aid”-level repairs through the years.

The quake didn’t do the structure any favors, he said Tuesday. “It moved.”

The street and the building have been taped off after passersby reported to city officials and Benicia Fire and Police departments that the building was leaning farther than normal.

But there’s more damage than just the tilt, Joy said. The sidewalk slopes toward the building, which could allow water to slip underneath.

“It’s slowly sinking,” Joy said.

The building once was the home of Benicia’s Black and White Liquor Store, and more recently was the Paper Tiger stationery store.

Joy said the building’s owner has hired Benicia architect Steve McKee to design the necessary changes, and is hoping that an extensive renovation will fix the building. Repairs will include lifting the building and extensive work on the foundation, Joy said.

“They want to try and doll it up,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Solano County Board’s resolution Tuesday ratified Gov. Jerry Brown’s own proclamation of a state of emergency for California.

Bunting said all of Solano County’s departments are “actively participating” in addressing the earthquake’s aftermath, and that the county’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) is working with California’s OES and other state agencies, as well as with representatives of area cities, the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army.

State and county OES staff have helped Vallejo building inspectors and public safety officers as they examine buildings for damage and assist those who need help after the quake, he said.

“Our tour of the county facilities in Vallejo showed they sustained minor damage, and we’re working diligently to restore county services as quickly as possible,” said District 2 Supervisor Linda Seifert, chairperson of the Board of Supervisors. She is Benicia’s representative to the board.

She said the resolution will make state and federal resources available to Solano County to assist with recovery from the earthquake.

The resolution authorizes Simona Padilla-Scholtens, Solano County auditor-controller, and her staff to prepare and process any required paperwork needed to pursue reimbursement for earthquake-related expenditures.

The board must review its resolution every 30 days until it considers the local emergency over, Bunting wrote.