Asbestos Abatement Delays Demolition and Building of New Jersey Firehouse

City officials in Vineland, New Jersey have decided to discard the first round of bids for the demolition and rebuilding of a firehouse after determining contractors had not been given enough information on the project. Business Administrator, Denise Monaco noticed that the first round of bids varied greatly and when reviewing the bid request, she noticed that the lowest of the 16 bids did not included the cost of removing asbestos from the building. “Specifics should have been made clearer,” said Monaco, “That’s why we sent out another bid.”

One of the city’s oldest schoolhouses, a warehouse and office buildings all have to undergo asbestos abatement and demolition to make room for the new firehouse. Mayor Robert Romano, who noted that the buildings and property were purchased by the previous city administration, said he was unaware of the need for asbestos removal until the first bid had gone out.

Mayor Romano is upset because he says the last mayor was advised to have the asbestos removed before the buildings were purchased. The abatement never happened. “The previous administrations incompetence is causing the city of Vineland to pay $200,000 extra. The cleanup is going to cost as much as the city bought it for,” commented Romano. The mayor said the warehouse was purchased for $330,000 and asbestos abatement is estimated to cost $275,000.

The original bid deadline was set for February 24th but the new deadline has been extended to May 27th. After the confusion the city hired an environmental consultant to analyze the levels of asbestos in the buildings. All three buildings were found to contain the carcinogen including significant levels in the schoolhouse.

Source: http://www.thedailyjournal.com/article/20090518/NEWS01/905180317