MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury selectboard on Thursday, June 2, awarded Parker Excavation of New Haven the contract to demolish the former municipal building and gym at 94 Main St., a job that is slated to begin in early July and last around 45 days, according to town Manager Kathleen Ramsay.
Parker’s low bid for the project was $325,000, while the only other bidder — Casella Construction Inc. — offered to do the job for $725,000, according to town documents. Otter Creek Engineering vetted both bids and determined the substantial difference between the two offers was that Parker’s had correctly anticipated the majority of brickwork in the buildings could be repurposed, rather than trashed. That’s because the painted brickwork within the buildings is devoid of the substantial lead content that would have required the material to be disposed of at significant cost, officials said.
Ramsay confirmed on Friday that a lot of people are getting in line to own a piece of 94 Main St. A future article in the Independent will offer more details on how the town plans to convey salvaged materials from the two buildings.
   BOXES LINED THE hallway of the old Middlebury municipal building in late March before they were moved down the street to the new office building. The old building, constructed in 1911 as the Middlebury high school  and repurposed as town offices in the 1950s after a fire, will be torn down beginning early next month.
Independent file photo/Trent Campbell