Moorestown Council Approves Library Demolition Change Order; Cost Increases By $180,000

Moorestown, NJ -- The contract for the demolition of the old library building has increased from $421,000 to about $600,000 due to the need to eliminate an abnormally large amount of asbestos discovered during the course of the demolition.

Council gave final approval to an ordinance setting aside $160,000 and borrowing $152,000 to be used for the project at its meeting Monday night at town hall. The vote was 5-0.

At the Feb. 8 meeting, council approved a consent agenda resolution to exceed the initial cost of the project by 20 percent.

The asbestos discovered behind the walls was found by the demolition company after the contract was awarded.

On Feb. 8, Township Engineer James Ruddiman said the township initially put aside $10,000 for asbestos remediation because it expected to find asbestos in the floor tiles and the fire doors.

Meco Demolition, the contractor handling the project, brought in its own environmental expert to conduct an analysis. Additional asbestos was found in the adhesive tape used to glue the ceiling tiles to the roof, as well as in the drywall.

Following the first remediation, which required a $70,000 change order to remove asbestos from behind the walls, more of the building was demolished, and additional asbestos was discovered in a 2-foot area on three sides of the basement wall, and the entire basement wall on the fourth side.

Meco said it could remediate the newly-discovered asbestos for $159,412.96, but could go no lower.

On Monday night, Councilwoman Lisa Petriello said she was concerned about the discrepancy in the cost of the project, so she went back and read the original contract, which was approved before she became a member of council.

“We set aside $10,000 for known asbestos, and another $2,000 for the investigation,” Petriello said. “If we vote no, we delay the project and incur additional costs, and we probably end up paying more. If we vote yes, the project can be finished on time and we probably pay less money. It’s not a great situation, but I considered all the possibilities and approving this ends up saving us money.”

“No one is thrilled, but this is asbestos and we have to remove it,” Deputy Mayor Victoria Napolitano said. This makes the most sense.”

“I’m very uncomfortable, but it’s two feet under ground, and there was no way to see this coming,” Mayor Phil Garwood said. “We’re stuck with this.”

During the public hearing on the ordinance, Moorestown Democratic Committee Chairman Robert T. Gorman voiced his concern that the Alaimo Group’s initial cost estimate was so far off.

Council reiterated Ruddiman’s assertion that additional asbestos would’ve been impossible to find without conducting a destructive testing, i.e., ripping up tiles and tearing down walls by the township prior to demolition.

Officials have also maintained they would’ve had no reason to believe they would find that much asbestos because the old library and the old town hall were built at the same time by the same construction company.

“All buildings should be treated differently,” resident Timothy Daniel said. “We need to get rid of this contractor because they’re just in it for the money.”

Council also unanimously approved an ordinance on introduction that extends the amount of time a pawn dealer has to make a piece of property sold to them by a member of the public available for inspection from 3 to 10 days, in accordance with state law.

Currently, the property must remain unchanged for three days following the purchase, but the dealer may ask to have that timeframe changed if they provide the property to police for inspection and documentation first, according totownship code.

The seller’s personal information is procured by the dealer at the time of the sale and entered into an electronic database designated by the Director of Police within 48 hours.