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Additional asbestos raises cost of demolishing Wean complex
YOUNGSTOWN
Additional asbestos found inside boilers at the former Wean United complex caused a 25-percent increase in a contract the city has with a company to remove the hazardous material and clean contaminated soil at the downtown location.
The board of control approved the $72,450 change-order increase Thursday to the original $288,159 proposal from Environmental Management Specialists, the Cleveland company doing the work. That brought the project’s total cost to $360,639.
Asbestos-filled fireproofing materials found inside boilers at the facility’s former boiler house caused the increase, said Charles Shasho, deputy director of the city’s public works department.
“It’s a little more pricey because of the increased labor involved in the removal,” he said. “It became a more time-consuming job.”
That work is ongoing, Shasho said.
Also, the city still has to seek proposals from companies to remove the concrete slabs of the 300,000-square-feet of buildings that used to house Wean United. The estimated cost of that work hasn’t been determined, but it will be more than the asbestos remediation and soil cleaning, Shasho said.
The city received a $1.7 million Clean Ohio grant in 2012 for its portion of the work.
Gearmar Properties, which owns the property on South Phelps Street, has been taking down portions of the buildings since October 2013. The company is selling material from the demolished structures for scrap.
The parcel is to be turned over to the city.
The project at the 10.43-acre site is expected to be finished sometime next year, Shasho said.
Wean United, which manufactured equipment used to process and finish steel products, closed in 1982.
Also Thursday, the board agreed to spend about $1,200 for battery backups to temporarily help with repeated breakdowns of city hall’s telephone system. The system went down Monday and Thursday.
A generator will be delivered by January, Shasho said.
Also, the city will start looking shortly for a new phone system and an upgrade to its backup system, said Rick Deak, the city’s chief information officer.