Asbestos and mold removal continue at the City Building, and officials are looking toward a June 2024 contract award for extensive renovations to the structure.
Reporting to the Hastings City Council on Monday during the council’s November work session, Lee Vrooman, city director of engineering, said more asbestos and mold have been found inside the building at 220 N. Hastings Ave., which has been closed since spring due to environmental health and safety concerns.
The city has a contract with Great Plains Asbestos Removal of Kearney for removal of asbestos-containing materials and limited mold remediation. That work is expected to be complete in February 2024, with additional mold removal expected to follow during the main renovation project.
During Monday’s work session at the Hastings Municipal Airport Terminal, Vrooman told the council the additional asbestos includes fireproofing material that was applied columns and beams, and in many cases was oversprayed liberally onto objects and surfaces, as well as some tile on the second floor.
“Any of that that we know about, we are actively having them remove it,” he said. “So that does entail looking behind walls, removing some of the paneling, getting to that asbestos so we can get that cleaned up.
“Also, we did find some additional mold once they took some of the wallpaper off, primarily in the two kitchen/break room areas on the first and second floors on the walls.”
To expedite removal of the asbestos materials and debris from the building, a window has been removed on the second floor, he said.
City Environmental Director Marty Stange said he isn’t surprised more asbestos is in the building than was originally understood, since ceilings and other materials had to be removed to expose some of it.
“It’s what we inherited when we bought the building,” Stange said. “It’s unfortunate.”
The council already has decided to pursue renovation of the 1963 building rather than tear it down and replace it. The building was constructed as a bank but has housed city offices since 1984.
The city is working with CMBA Architects of Grand Island to plan a full, top-to-bottom renovation.
The architects are expected to have renderings of possible changes to the City Council chambers and the building exterior finished by Jan. 31, 2024. Vrooman said officials then hope to gather council input on those two areas at the February work session.
Project design, drawings and specifications are expected to be complete in time for a bid letting in early May, with the bid package to include all construction work including roof replacement and foundation repairs.
The timeline calls for a bid opening on June 11, a contract award on June 24, and the start of construction in August, with a final completion date in March 2026.
Vrooman said he and City Administrator Shawn Metcalf are meeting with the architect every other week at this point and have inquired, as some council members wished, about possibly forging ahead with roof replacement and foundation repairs in advance of the main renovation project.
“At this time, (the architect) is saying it probably doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to break out the roof (project),” Vrooman said.
He cited unknowns such as what kind of heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment will be installed on the roof; as well as what will happen with a parapet around the outside walls of the building, which the current rubber membrane roof doesn’t stretch across, allowing water to run down the walls and infiltrate through the mortar.
Also, he said, the building’s elevator will be moved, and that will affect the roof, as well.
“There’s some work there that we need to get a little bit farther down the design to know exactly what’s going to happen,” Vrooman said. “But that’s a conversation we’ll continue to have with the architect, is ‘what makes sense to us to break out? If we can save some money, we’re going to do that.’ “
Councilman Steve Huntley asked at what junctures in the design phase the public could have some input into what they would like the building to look like.
Metcalf said some public feedback could be gathered concerning the council chambers and building exterior, and that the city might be able to organize some kind of open-house meeting for that purpose.
“I think that might be a good idea,” Huntley said. “I don’t know what anyone else thinks, but it is their building, and they’re going to be paying for it.”
Vrooman said city staff plans to keep council up to date on how the project is progressing.
“We’re going, through Shawn, to try to give timely updates as things change, to keep the council abreast of what’s going on with that building, because I know it is a hot topic,” he said.
The council had a busy agenda for Monday’s work session. Other agenda items included:
- A discussion with Bill Hitesman, chair of the Utility Advisory Board; and Jeannette Dewalt, advisory board vice chair, about the board and the significance of its work.
- A short discussion of possible City Council character standards and norms for future adoption. Huntley and Councilman Marc Rowan said they preferred that the discussion be deferred until some later time. Council President Matt Fong said the subject could wait until after the first of the year.
- A presentation from Ryan Kavan and Mark Lutjeharms of the engineering firm JEO concerning long-range plans for West 12th Street improvements.
- A discussion with Hastings Utilities staff about changing the formula used to determine payments-in-lieu-of-tax (actually, payments in lieu of a franchise fee) from HU to the city’s general fund based on electricity sales. The topic is expected to appear next on the council’s Dec. 11 regular meeting agenda.
- Metcalf’s introduction of Mark Funkey, who was hired this weekend as the new assistant city administrator. Funkey will start work in February.