PINE GROVE - Eight companies submitted bids to demolish 12 properties damaged in the borough during the Flood of 2011.
The bids were opened Monday afternoon, but council President Larry Dubbs said that the council will award the winning bid after they are reviewed. Heath M. Machamer, engineer with OTM LLC, Pine Grove, the borough's engineering firm, and borough solicitor Christopher Hobbs will review the bids and then make a recommendation to the council, which may award the bid at the 7 p.m. regular scheduled council meeting Thursday.
The chosen contractor will then have 90 days from the notice to proceed by the borough to finish the job, Dubbs said.
The companies that submitted bids for the demolition project include: Northeast Industrial Services Corp., Shamokin, $164,890; Empire Services, Reading, $327,642; Dudash Pipeline Inc., Pottsville, $124,111; SDL Construction, Orwigsburg, $133,000; Penn Earth Works, Beaver Meadows, $88,025; IWDA, Dunmore, $87,400; B.S. Environmental, Sykesville, Md., $159,500, and Arthur "Pat" Aungst Inc., Pine Grove, $169,686.
Representatives from the companies were present for the meeting that was also attended by Judy Kassab, borough secretary, and council members Thomas Fickinger and Machamer.
More than 15 inches of water inundated the borough when Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee moved through the area in 2011. Money for the demolition will come from funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.
The borough will kick in the remaining amount, 3 percent.
Kassab said the borough will then need to file for the funds through PEMA.
"The paperwork's not extensive at this point," she said, adding a date for when the funding would arrive is not known.
The borough previously received $674,073.39 for buyouts of the properties.
After the meeting, Dubbs said he was not surprised at the range of bid amounts. He declined to elaborate.
The bids cover a variety of factors, including asbestos removal.
Asbestos is a mineral fiber. If present in a home, it is not dangerous unless the fibers are damaged, released into the air and inhaled, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Both Machamer and Dubbs said they did not know if asbestos is in any of the homes slated for demolition.
"It was not a requirement of FEMA for us to check," Machamer said.
The council condemned 13 properties, one of which was sold, leaving 12 properties and 11 owners.
Lisa and Derek Tobias were the first homeowners to receive buyout funds. The last settlement was March 14, Kassab said.