Fire Sale 2010

I have often voiced my frustration over companies who are bidding work at below cost. Ill qualified firms who are awarded basement priced contracts in turn cut corners, provide inferior quality/customer service, and at times, illegally dispose of demolition debris – or worse, illegally dispose hazardous materials.

Both public and private entities have little incentive to care when they gawk at the bottom line. Economic ambiguity allows clients to “take advantage” – the advantage often translates into an ethical (cafeteria style) mode of operation as they choose what to be concerned about.

Below is a news item that was placed on my desk by a coworker. I wish those quoted in the article could be more forthright concerning the circumstances. The truth would be a powerful morality pageant or perhaps akin to the musings of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm – an ominous lesson for those clients who forsake professionals in favor industry bastardization.

Essentially, Champion Environmental Services, Inc. was retained to demolish a building which was environmentally abated by another company. Prior to mobilization, the EPA alerted our company that soil had become contaminated with asbestos. What initially started out as a few skid steer loads of material quickly materialized into a massive undertaking which has yet to be fully resolved.

The article uses the phrase “unauthorized work” to characterize the essence of the hindrance. I would characterize the situation as one of deliberate deception

Keep in mind, at one time, the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale actually designated “idiot” as a definable unit attributable to people.

Again, this article is by Dustin Lemmon of the “Quad- City Times”.

Demolition nears for Moline building

Once the last of the asbestos is removed from Moline’s old nursing school dormitory, it shouldn’t be long before the building is brought down.

But exactly when the asbestos removal will be complete is up to the weather.
Maggie Carson, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, which has been overseeing the asbestos cleanup, said the contractor is scheduled to resume work Monday, but rain could delay the work that is left at the seven-story building on 6th Street, south of 5th Avenue.

Joe Slavens, president of Northwest Bank and Trust, which is responsible for the demolition, said some contaminated soil has to be removed and then the EPA will conduct a soil test to determine if the land meets its standards.

“The problem has been rain in terms of delaying activity,” Slavens said. “You have to have a certain number of dry days. When it rains, you have to wait until it dries.”

Slavens said the bank already has contracted a company for the demolition work and will be ready to go as soon as the EPA agrees the work can proceed.

“The bank has been ready to write checks to the contractor for a month,” he said. “I know people in the neighborhood have been disappointed it hasn’t come down.”
The bank will need a demolition permit from the city, but that is expected to come quickly.

“It will be very quick,” Moline City Administrator Lew Steinbrecher said of securing the permit. “It’s ready to go. We can’t do anything until the EPA releases the building.”

The asbestos removal has been a lengthy process. Slavens said the building already passed an air sample test, which is the usual standard for the EPA’s asbestos testing, but there was some unauthorized work done at the site previously that required the soil tests and a higher standard.

Steinbrecher said the ground needs to be cleared so once the building is brought down, either with a wrecking ball or other construction equipment, the rubble can be left on the bluff.

“If the EPA will clear the building of asbestos, the rubble can be crushed and left on the site with top soil coverage,” he said.

Once the site is cleared, the city will take ownership of the property and seek a developer for a housing development with 80 residential units, Steinbrecher said, adding the homes will not be built on the area where the rubble is left.
Carson would not give an estimate for how much longer the asbestos cleanup will take.

Dustin Lemmon of the “Quad- City Times”