CARIBOU, Maine — The Caribou City Council voted to table awarding a demolition contract for 49 Herschel Street until a hazardous‑materials inspection is completed and bidders submit more detailed scopes of work.

Councilors reviewed three bids for the long‑vacant, blighted building at 49 Herschel Street: Thibodeaux Trucking and Excavation of Washburn at $34,950, Soderberg Construction of Caribou at $88,500, and Magillan Inc. of Fort Fairfield at $71,100. City staff said the first round of bidding produced no offers and the second round produced the three bids included in the packet.

Several councilors voiced concern about the Thibodeaux bid because it gave minimal detail about exactly what would be removed and how the contractor would address concrete and wet material inside the structure. Councilor Joan Terrio said she had "no problem with awarding the bid to him, but I think it needs to be laid out there that he's going to do ... apples to apples" work compared with the other bidders before the city commits.

Councilor Bagley asked whether hazardous‑material work such as asbestos remediation was included in the bids; staff said it was not and that asbestos removal would require a separate contract if the inspection finds asbestos‑containing material. City staff confirmed the asbestos survey must be done first.

Because of those concerns, Councilor Kelly moved to table awarding the contract pending completion of the hazardous‑materials survey and clearer bid language; the motion was seconded and passed 5–1 (Bagley, Kelly, Lovewell, Terrio and Watson voted yes; Smith voted no).

City staff noted a few additional details: the city will apply available "free tonnage" at the landfill to reduce tipping fees for the demolition, which may have lowered the low bid; the material in the building is likely water‑logged and so tonnage estimates are difficult for bidders to calculate; and an asbestos inspection and, if needed, a separate asbestos abatement contract would be required before demolition.

The council also asked staff to revise the bid solicitation language to require bidders to itemize concrete removal, seeding/grading, and other key tasks so proposals can be compared on an "apples to apples" basis.

Next steps: staff will schedule an asbestos inspection and return to the council with the survey results and a revised, more detailed bid solicitation. The council will consider awarding a demolition contract only after the hazardous‑materials assessment and clearer bid terms are available.