Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

Plans have been in the works for over five years to renovate the historic Town Hall of Woodstock, New York. It appears that the already soaring price tag for the project will be a bit higher because environmental inspectors recently found 20 to 25 percent more asbestos in the building than previously thought.

The Town Board recently agreed to pay an additional $13,779 in costs needed for additional asbestos abatement based on a new report by Alpine Environmental Services. The original bid was based on a report done in 2007 when the renovation plan started. However because the area of renovation had expanded and new, more sensitive detecting devices have become available, a new survey by the company was requested which determined the higher costs of removing the asbestos.

The initial costs for asbestos removal had been estimated at $46,000. The additional costs include removal, air monitoring, developing a removal plan and post-removal inspections.

Town supervisor Jeremy Wilber said that they knew all along that there was asbestos in the building, they just didn’t know there was that much. “In almost every single old building you’re going to find building materials with asbestos in it,” he said. “…..this is just part of the gig.”

Asbestos has been used significantly in the construction and manufacturing industries since the late 1800s because of it’s durability, flexibility and strength. It resists wear, chemicals and heat and was used in thousands of products including pipe insulation, fireproofing, brake pads, cement and electrical wiring. During renovations or demolition of buildings, asbestos containing products are often sawed, cut, ground and sanded resulting in the release of dangerous microscopic asbestos fibers that could then be breathed into the lungs and cause mesothelioma and other deadly illnesses.

The majority of the asbestos in the Woodstock Town Hall was found in the coated hot air ducts.

In 2007 residents of Woodstock approved to bond $1.45 million of an estimated $1.6 million to renovate the Town Hall building. The plan included improvements to the court and dispatch offices as well as a geothermal system for heating and cooling. Costs for the project came in $600,000 over estimates and it took four years for the work to be scaled back enough to land within budget.

The additional asbestos removal costs come on top of board member approval of spending $1500 for Novus Engineering to provide drawings detailing pollution prevention measures during drilling used to install geothermal wells.   Although proper asbestos removal is costly, the risk of causing someone to die from negligent exposure should be incentive to have it done safely.