MOUNT CARMEL - Only two contractors submitted bids to tear down a fire-damaged house in the borough.
Bids to demolish 244 E. Second St. were opened May 1. Ferdinand Diminick Contracting, of Danville, entered the low bid at $9,700. Earthmovers Unlimited Inc. bid $39,790.
The reason for the more than $30,000 difference in the two bids was unclear.
Borough council president Tony Matulewicz said he was disappointed in the bids because the cost to demolish the house has steadily climbed since initial estimates.
In January 2014, Ferdinand Diminick bid just $6,200 to tear down the building.
At the time, borough council selected Rutledge Excavating's higher bid of $9,700 as a package deal to also demolish the borough garage at an additional cost of $21,440.
Both demolitions ultimately fell through when Rutledge tacked on extra charges for services like asbestos removal that made the task prohibitively expensive, Solicitor William Cole said previously.
Rutledge Excavating did not participate in the most recent bidding, which consisted of only the house.
The house was damaged in a Nov. 8, 2012, along with two other homes. The man who owned 244 E. Second St. at the time, Mark Jackson, did not have insurance.
Matulewicz recalled Jackson was told it would cost nearly half of Ferdinand Diminick's current bid to demolish the house.
"It's pretty frustrating that when Jackson owned it (the demolition) was $5,500," he said.
Ferdinand Diminick could not be reached Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, to comment about the new estimates.
In addition to the growing cost of demolition, the borough also had to shell out $4,700 in grant money for pre-demolition engineering work. SEDA-COG, which is managing the project so the borough can use Community Block Development Grant money, said the pre-demolition engineering was necessary to ensure all bids were the same.
Matulewicz said the ballooning cost is one reason he disagrees with the borough taking possession of damaged properties. In this circumstance, though, he believed the borough had no choice because Jackson had no money to pay fines or fix his property.
Jackson left the borough after his house was destroyed in the fire and was last known to be living in the Milton area. He was charged in March 2014 with four felonies related to the sexual assault of a minor. He has not yet appeared for a hearing on the charges, and a warrant is out for his arrest.
SEDA-COG has recommended the borough award Ferdinand Diminick the bid. Council will vote May 21 to accept one of the bids or reject both.
