The blighted structure at 202 N Pearl Street in Knox is one step closer to being eliminated. Knox Board of Works members approved a demolition bid from Jackson Trucking and Excavating when they met in special session Monday morning.
Initially, members opened bids in February, but due to some confusion over bid specifications, members voted to re-bid for the project with requirements more clearly specified. This time only one bid was received from Harvey Jackson with Jackson Trucking and Excavating for a total of $10,000 for demolition and asbestos testing.
Mayor Dennis Estok stated that the price for asbestos removal will be submitted as a change order later in the project. The members previously discussed having bidders submit the expected price for removal with their bids. However, after consulting with some state officials, he found that it’s common for asbestos removal to be submitted later as a change order.
Member Steve Dodge voted to accept Jackon’s bid, pending their attorney’s review and approval. That motion passed with unanimous approval.
Monday afternoon, City Attorney Leslie Baker mentioned that she looked over the bid in the Mayor’s office and found no noticeable errors. She indicated that the bid seemed acceptable to approve.
Jackson will now need to contact someone to take care asbestos testing and removal before he can begin demolition. As stated above, once Jackson is able to assess how much asbestos will need to be removed, he can submit the cost of removal as a change order.
Neighborhood Development Project Manager Rosie Levya mentioned that when working with Jackson with past blight eliminations, asbestos removal came in around $2,800. She said that even when you combine the projected price of asbestos removal with his bid for demolition and testing, the cost will still be well within the budget for this particular project.
She added that preliminary steps are already being taken to get rid of another blighted structure on Ostrander Court.
