Council OKs asbestos-removal pact for new police station

The Cape Girardeau City Council voted Monday night to hire a contractor to remove asbestos-containing materials in the former Naval Reserve Center to prepare for construction of a new police station and municipal court.

Midwest Environmental Studies of Cape Girardeau, the sole bidder on the asbestos removal, will do the work at a cost of $33,590. The bid was higher than the engineer’s estimate of $30,000.

City officials haven’t decided whether to renovate the building at 2530 Maria Louise Lane, or demolish it and construct a new structure.

Either way, the city first must remove the asbestos-containing materials, said Anna Kangas, the city’s building and code enforcement manager.

State and federal law requires asbestos building materials be removed by a certified asbestos contractor, Kangas said before the meeting.

The environmental contractor is the same firm that inspected the Naval Reserve building and issued a report to the city last month about the location of asbestos materials in the building.

Kangas said asbestos tile was found in the flooring throughout the structure.

Asbestos insulation also was found around pipe elbows and in a mechanical tunnel, she said.

The building was constructed in the late 1960s and served as a training center for the U.S. Naval Reserve.

“At one time, the use of asbestos in building material was very popular because of its affordability and durable nature,” Kangas wrote in a report to the council.

The use of asbestos in buildings was halted in the late 1970s after it was revealed it caused tissue scarring and contributed to lung cancer, she said.

Kangas said the asbestos-removal work is expected to take about a month.

Meanwhile, the city staff continues to review four design-build proposals for the new police station.

The proposals include everything from renovation to new construction.

City officials have an $11 million budget for the project, although only two proposals that were submitted last month are within budget.

City manager Scott Meyer said the public will have a chance to view the plans at a meeting that likely will be in early March.

In other business, the council authorized two contracts to repair neighborhood streets at a cost of more than $1.4 million. Nip Kelley Equipment Co. of Cape Girardeau will repair sections of concrete streets at a cost of $1.19 million.

The project calls for removing and replacing concrete pavement and portions of sidewalks, curbs and gutters, alleys and driveways on sections of North Church Street, Cannon Lane, Patriot Drive, Cypress Court, Eagle Ridge Drive, Valley View Lane, Oak Ridge Court, Keystone Drive, Good Hope Street, Brentwood Drive, Rosewood Drive and Dover Lane.

ASA Asphalt Inc. of Advance, Missouri, will resurface pavement with hot-mix asphalt at a cost of more than $225,000.

That work will occur on sections of Grandview Drive, Ridgeway Drive, David Street, Jasmine Lane, Lisa Drive and Magnolia Avenue as well as a driveway at 1416 Ripley St.

Both contractors submitted the low bids for the street work. Ward 6 Councilman Wayne Bowen said both projects will “improve our surface roads.”

Mayor Harry Rediger said since 1995, the city has spent nearly $90 million in transportation sales-tax revenue on construction of new streets and improvements to existing roads.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.