A contract for the demolition of the former Arnolt Corporation building was awarded to a Chicago company during a June 3 Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety meeting. InkFreeNews file photo.

By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — A contract for the demolition of the former Arnolt Corporation building near Argonne Road in Warsaw has been awarded to a Chicago company.

During a June 3 meeting, the Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety awarded the contract to Green Demolition Contractors Inc., Chicago. Out of seven bids the city received for the project, Green Demolition Contractors Inc. submitted the lowest bid, totaling $178,800. The highest bid the city received was $370,000.

A new affordable housing project will eventually replace the old Arnolt building.

Community & Economic Development Director Jeremy Skinner requested the board award the bid and approve the contract to begin work on the project immediately.

“It’s nice to get a number of bids and pay a little bit lower than what we thought we were going to,” said Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer.

Skinner said some environmental issues at the location are currently being addressed.

“They’re still waiting on some samples to come back on the concrete from some oil leaks,” said Skinner. “Once that’s done, they can go in and demo the building down to the foundation and do some soil testing. There’s some coordination that has to occur…it’s going to take a little bit of time but hopefully we can get that done in the next couple of months and the construction can start.”

Thallemer also clarified a recent press release from the Michiana Area Council of Governments (MACOG) about a $500,000 grant MACOG received from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“They (MACOG) used Warsaw as the poster child for the type of projects they were looking for,” said Thallemer. “We (the city) didn’t receive a second grant, we didn’t receive half a million, we didn’t get any money for demolition (of the Arnolt building). I saw in some reports that we were awarded $500,000 for demolition, that is not correct.”

In other business, the board also accepted a Central Services updated protocol, which benefits all city departments.

“The need for a formal protocol was created to streamline efficiency across the city as far as production, financial responsibility, and overall direction,” read a letter from Street Superintendent Dustin Dillon. “With this protocol, the city departments will clearly know which specific workforce is responsible for maintenance of any task that may arise.”

The Board of Public Works and Safety’s next meeting is at 10:30 a.m. Friday, June 17.