According to County Maintenance Manager Randy Jensen, the Western Grocer demolition started with the west wall and will continue to the south wall. The contract period is until Aug. 30, but Jensen expects it to finish earlier.

The demolition was contracted with Austin-based David Spinler Construction Inc. at $197,000. While the contract allows Spinler Construction to retain any reusable materials in the building, the county will save a beams and some bricks for any future occasions to commemorate the 110-year-old building.

The project started with an unexpected surprise when asbestos wasdetected in roofing materials. But the county hired a Asbestrol Inc., abatement firm specialized in asbestos removal, and eliminated the hazard completely by last week.

Though the asbestos did not cause a major delay of the project, it incurred $130,000 in extra costs for the county. Asbestrol reported that it eliminated 88 bags and 266 barrels of materials that contained friable asbestos and 38 yards of non-friable asbestos materials. All of the hazardous wastes were transported to a special landfill in Rosemount.