Mold-infested West Lafayette City Hall to be demolished

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Officials say West Lafayette's mold-infested City Hall will be gone by the end of November if not sooner.

West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis told the Lafayette Journal & Courier (http://on.jconline.com/2b1hOa8) that the city is going to demolish the building this year.

City Hall suffered extensive water damage after its pipes froze and ruptured twice in January 2014. While cleaning the second mess, crews found mold throughout the basement as well as mold spores on the first and second floors. The building was abandoned by March of that year.

The city explored how much it would cost to fix the problem, and concluded that it would cost less to just demolish the building. Dennis says the decision was delayed while city officials and insurance adjusters reached an agreement.

The city's facility manager, Tim Clark, said he is preparing a request for proposals to demolish the building this fall and that the checklist of chores to do so is underway.

"We are relocating the fiber (optic cables)," Clark said of the city's information technology infrastructure inside the building. "That's already in motion."

Clark said the city will have to remove all hazardous material from the building, including small amounts of asbestos on the floor tiles, before it can be demolished. The city also bought a new tornado siren that will be installed at a local fire station, replacing the current siren on the top of City Hall.

Clark said he would like to have the land reclaimed and seeded in the spring.

___

Information from: Journal and Courier, http://www.jconline.com