Taxpayers To Fork Over $315,840 For Old Joliet Catholic Gym: Tonelli

JOLIET, IL — A decision by leaders of the city of Joliet during the 1990s is coming back to haunt the taxpayers of Joliet a quarter of a century later. On Tuesday night, the Joliet City Council is asked to vote on spending more than $300,000 in taxpayer money to hire a contractor to do asbestos removal at the old basketball gymnasium for the former Joliet Catholic High School property on Broadway Street.

The gymnasium was also used during the early to mid-1990s when Plainfield High School used the property after the Plainfield High School was destroyed by the Aug. 28, 1990 tornado.

Joliet's lame duck city manager, Rod Tonelli, has asked the City Council to award a contract for nearly $316,000 for lead and asbestos removal at the Victory Center Gymnasium, 25 N. Broadway St. The contract is being recommended for Universal Asbestos Removal, and it will not exceed $315,840, Tonelli's memo states.

The bid summary is as follows:

• Universal Asbestos Removal Inc. $315,840
• Husar Abatement LLC. $321,440
• Midway Contracting Group $392,425
• Kinsale Contracting Group $481,000
• M & O Environmental Company $515,900.00
• Valor Technologies Inc. $573,500

City of Joliet's Engineers Estimate: $407,000

According to Tonelli's memo to the City Council: the gymnasium portion of the Victory Center, also known as the Old Joliet Catholic High School, at 25 N. Broadway St., is slated for strategic demolition in the first quarter of 2024. In advance of that work, any existing lead paint or asbestos present must be removed and abated.

Tonelli noted the contract was advertised on Sept. 21 and the abatement is anticipated to begin November 27.

According to Tonelli's memo, funds will be charged to Building and Grounds Repair and Maintenance in the amount of $315,840.

According to a 2016 article in The Herald-News, the old Joliet Catholic High School gym and cafeteria were donated to the city of Joliet back in 1997.

On Monday, administrators with the Victory Center senior citizen apartment complex and Tonelli would not let Joliet Patch inside the building to take photos of the old Joliet Catholic gymnasium, citing safety reasons.