Newcomerstown officials recently learned that it's going to cost half a million dollars to remove the asbestos and lead from the former Simonds factory on Heller Drive. (Tusco TV file photo)  

NEWCOMERSTOWN - Village officials now have a better idea of what it’s going to cost to get a decaying former factory on Heller Drive ready for demolition, and it’s significantly more than they expected.  

Mayor Pat Cadle says the estimate for asbestos removal at the former Simonds facility came back at half a million dollars, about $200,000 more than originally expected. He says this is due to the presence of a second hazardous substance inside the glass-lined power building. 

"In those days, and the same thing with the main factory windows, they glazed the glass with asbestos on both sides," he says. "And, to add insult to injury, the caulking has lead in it, and that holds the glass in."

Cadle says the materials have to be removed in accordance with EPA standards before the contractor can come in to start tearing down the buildings. He says the village will now start looking for ways to lower that cost. 

"We have money set aside for part of that, but after we got the estimate, we called the EPA because there are EPA grants available," he says. "What I’m hoping for is half. If we can get half that paid for, we have money and we’re also talking to Simonds to see if they can help us also."

Cadle says even if they have to pay the full cost, there will still be an overall savings to the village since the contractor has agreed to tear down the buildings in exchange for any scrappable material. 

"Five-hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money, and I was glad I was sitting down when they told me that, but when you look at the whole big picture of how much that would have cost if we would have had to pay for it to be torn down, hauled away, the asbestos removed, we would easily be over a million dollars," he says.

Cadle says once they have the funding in place, it will take several months to remove the materials, which could potentially push the demolition to back next year. 

TUSCO TV