The board of trustees of Van Diest Medical Center met in special session Tuesday to review and award bids for asbestos removal and demolition of the old hospital building.
Anderson Excavating Co., Omaha, was awarded the contract to handle the asbestos abatement at the structure with the low bid. According to Administrator Palmer Schneider, six bids were received for the work. Bids ranged from a high of $158,943 to Anderson Excavating's bid of $103,807.
The demolition work will be done by Midwest Construction Services, of Fort Dodge. The firm had the low bid for the project - $237,088. Seven other firms submitted bids ranging up to the high bid of $564,000.
Schneider said he expected work to begin as soon as next week with the asbestos removal.
"That will be followed by the salvage work and then the demolition," he said. Schneider explained that the demolition company will pull the footings and will refill the hole. All of the roads and parking lots will be removed, he said, with the only remaining structure to be a green metal building and a cement pad surrounding it. The old hospital building has been vacant since September 2010, when Van Diest Medical Center opened.
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