The Collinsville City Council on Tuesday authorized a contract for the removal of asbestos from the building at 130 South Center Street, the former home of the Collinsville post office.

The building that housed the Collinsville post office from 1964 to Jan. 31, 2014 / Photo by Roger Starkey

A rendering of Collinsville City Hall after the completion of phase three of the Downtown Streetscape Project / Image courtesy of Oates Associates

Pre-demolition testing of the 50-year-old structure revealed the presence of asbestos, Uptown Coordinator Leah Joyce said. Envirotech Inc. won the bid on the project and will receive $48,250.

Work can begin as early as June 2 and must be completed by June 18. The timeline, Joyce said, gives the contractor sufficient time to complete their work and keeps the project on track to potentially complete by Italian Fest, which begins on Sept. 19.

“That is pushing it,” Joyce said of completing the work by Italian Fest. “We want to complete the work as soon as possible without compromising the project.”

In the same City Hall area, Streetscape 3 work is in progress. The majority of that work is also expected to be completed by Italian Fest.

After the asbestos is removed, air tests must be conducted to ensure the building is safe to demolish. City crews could begin the demolition work as early as the last week of June or the first week of July, Joyce said.

The City Council voted 3-1 to award the contract for the asbestos removal, with Karen Woolard as the lone dissenter. Woolard voted against the entire project initially and wants to remain consistent throughout the process, she said. Mike Tognarelli was not present at the meeting.