The long-awaited demolition process of the existing buildings that will eventually be the site of a new Clinton County Justice Center will have to wait even longer.
That information was learned last Friday, May 19, at the regular monthly meeting of the Judicial Center’s Project Development Board (PDB).
The board is still in the process of having environmental work done by SEMAC, which is in the process of trying to get materials, including an underground tank, out of the buildings.
According to Clinton County Judge/Executive Ricky Craig, who chairs the PDB, the environmental company will be using the county’s environmental code for the bidding forremoval of the materials, which may contain hazardous waste, from the old buildings.
A bid opening for the removal of the materials may be held on June 9, the judge said following last week’s meeting.
Demolition cannot be started until the materials, including an underground tank in the old Ferguson Brothers building, are removed.
Since bids for the removal of materials have not even been opened, the time line for actual tearing down of the buildings is still not known, but it will be at least some time this summer.
The positive aspect, however, is that the demolition of the buildings is not expected to take long. Once the existing buildings are removed, the process of constructing the new $17.5 million facility can begin.
The actual “demolition” process, due to different delays, primarily about three months of environmental work, has already been pushed back over five months.
The original time frame for demolition of the existing buildings was early January of this year.
According to minutes from last Friday morning’s regular board meeting, only two items were actually voted on by the board, those being the approval of minutes and to adjourn the meeting.
The next regular meeting of the Judicial Center Project Development Board (PDB) is scheduled for Friday, June 16, at 8 a.m. in the upstairs courtroom of the courthouse and is open to the public.