At Tuesday's Greenville City Council meeting, the council rejected the bid for the demolition of the Elks Lodge No. 148 Building on Washington Avenue.
The bid amount for demolition was $400,000 from the contractor, Lesure’s Demolition of Greenville, and the company was the only bidder.
The council decided to reject the bid because the cost was too high and they want to look at other options, according to City Attorney Andy Alexander. The council, he said, will open the bidding process for new bidders in the near future.
Councilman Bill Boykin said he agreed with Alexander and stated that the city doesn’t have the funds for this project at the moment. At Tuesday’s meeting, Boykin made the motion to reject the bid.
The demolition of the building included abatement of hazardous materials such as asbestos and lead paint per prescribed by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality standards.
Once the successful bidder is awarded, project plans must be submitted to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History for review. Additionally, any lead-impacted soil must be removed and backfilled with clean soil. A contractor is not expected to work outside of the foot print of the associated tax parcel. However, perimeter air monitoring for both asbestos and lead must be conducted during the course of the demolition operation.
Background information
Earlier this year, the city granted a demolition permit for the Elks Lodge No. 148 building by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. The city had been trying to demolish this building for the last three years.
The Elks Lodge was considered as one of the three possible sites for the new federal courthouse, but the city was in favor of the Stein Mart Square instead because the MDAH placed the lodge as a contributing factor to the National Historic Register status of downtown Greenville.
The city applied for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfield Cleanup grant for $350,000. If the city was awarded the grant, it would have gone toward abating asbestos and lead paint and cover demolition costs.
A hardship waiver for the cleanup grant was also requested, which would not require a match from the city. The city did not receive the grant.
