County sued over cost of demolition

STEUBENVILLE - RSV Inc. of Steubenville filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Jefferson County Common Pleas Court against the Jefferson County commissioners, claiming the county owes the contractor $93,971 for extra work needed to demolish a former school in Mount Pleasant.

The village of Mount Pleasant contacted the county regional planning commission about securing a Community Development Block Grant to remove the former high school, which was damaged in a fire in the 1980s and has been abandoned since.

Mount Pleasant Mayor Francis Sebring wrote to county officials in May 2007 saying the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and several environmental contractors assessed the building and estimated it would cost between $100,000 and $300,000 to remove the building.

The county only was able to provide $50,000 in CDBG funds.

Sebring said the village agreed to assume any cost over the $50,000.

RSV was one of five contractors to submit bids in October 2008 for the demolition project. All the companies bid in excess of $90,000, with the engineer's estimate was $96,800. However, RSV bid $50,000.

RSV claims in its lawsuit there were environmental asbestos studies performed by Stone Environmental Co. RSV said additional asbestos removal work was necessary. The job was completed, and the commissioners approved a check to RSV for $50,000 under the contract for the demolition work, but the commissioners but have not paid the extra amount requested by RSV.

Thomas Graham, chairman of the county commissioners, had no comment on the lawsuit.

(Law can be contacted at mlaw@heraldstaronline.com.)