Sometime between May 28 and June 5, the initial work on a major project at Simpson Elementary School will be taking place. At that time, contractors will begin the first phase of the demolition of the old tower of the school and that involves the removal of the asbestos in the building.

 

The Harrison County Board of Education opened bids for the project Thursday and once the formal approval is granted the contractor can begin its work. With the age of the building, Assistant Superintendent of Schools Anthony Fratto said asbestos is like in the paint, in the walls or even in the insulation.

 

“The contractor will go in and safely remove that and you have to have trained people to take it out,” Fratto, who said key staff members Joe Ammons and Neil Quinn are among those still certified, said. “We actually used to be able to do this ourselves in house, but through retirement we don’t’ have the number of people certified to do it anymore and we have to contract it out.”

 

Fratto said the hope is to actually begin this work as soon as possible in the time frame mentioned above, which could result in students at Simpson having some educational days away from the building. What that entails has yet to be finalized.

 

“We’re going to try and the students out a few days early, particularly with the summer being shorter now and the time needed to complete the demolition project,” said Fratto. “We’re working with the Simpson administration to look at alternatives for a few days out of the building for students even as they’re still in attendance.”

 

Once that’s determined and once the abatement process begins, Fratto said it will be followed by the removal of the old tower. When the actual tearing down of the decades-old structure begins is an unknown as Fratto said Ammons estimated the asbestos work needing to be done prior to take one week and contractors who attended a pre-bid conference estimated that it could be up to two weeks.

 

“The problem is that you have a limited time frame, which we’ll work within,” said Fratto. “It’s not just a demolition project. We have to build a temporary access point between the cafeteria and the main school building. Right now, that access is done through the tower that’s being demolished.”

 

Reclaim was the low bidder on the project. Their bid came in at $24,500.

 

Editor's Note: Pictured below is Anthony Fratto.