The Waterloo City Council on Aug. 25 voted unanimously to award an asbestos-abatement contract for the former Parkview Gardens building at 310 Upland Drive to Advanced Environmental of Waterloo for $115,000. The council also discussed sequencing the abatement and later demolition and raised questions about areas of the building that testing contractors could not fully access.

City staff said the building is larger than a single-family home and contains asbestos primarily in 9-by-9 flooring tile, roofing materials and some boiler-room pipe wrap. City Planner Eric Trader said bids for demolition and abatement were issued close together; the abatement contractor will complete work before the city gives a notice to proceed to a demolition contractor.

The council’s action follows a public hearing. Resident David Dreier asked whether the project was for a large building and said the cost seemed high. Trader and other staff told the council the building had been county-owned, then came to the city’s inventory, and that residents had requested its removal for some time.

Council members pressed staff about the contractor’s ability to access confined or water-filled crawl spaces and tunnels. Trader said Advanced Environmental, which conducted testing, reported limited access in some tunnels but that sampling indicated most pipe wrap in those tunnels was newer material not containing asbestos. He said most asbestos is in floor tile across much of the building, there is a “decent amount” in the roof and some in windows, caulking and a small boiler-room area.

Council members asked whether the abatement contract could become open-ended if unexpected asbestos were found in inaccessible areas. Trader said the city had a complete survey and that the report identified locations and quantities; he also said the city planned to have the demolition contractor on standby so demolition could proceed once abatement finished. Residents and some councilors asked staff to follow up with Advanced Environmental on the tunnel and confined-space access points before work proceeds.

Bids read into the record: Advanced Environmental (Waterloo) — $115,000; Site Services Inc. (Algona) — $126,500; REW Services Corp. (Des Moines) — $159,639; All Star Environmental LLC (Dubuque) — $163,800. The engineer’s estimate was $170,000. The council adopted a resolution awarding the abatement contract to Advanced Environmental and authorized the mayor and city clerk to execute the contract (AB2025-OP-01P). A roll-call vote recorded affirmative votes from council members present.

Staff said demolition was being bid separately; the city intends to award demolition so that when the abatement contractor finishes, demolition can proceed this year. Council members asked staff to confirm the extent of the testing in tunnels and confined spaces and to report back if additional access or costs are required.