The Grand Coulee Dam School District board Wednesday night awarded a contract to demolish A.E. Wright Elementary.

Elder Demolition, a Spokane/Portland firm bid $371,095 -- about $49,000 over the official estimate -- yet $47,000 under the next lowest bidder.

Senior architect Laurence Rose, of Design West, told the board that Elder Demolition indicated plans to grind up concrete at the site and store it there for later fill on the K-12 project, therefby saving the district a considerable amount of money.

The second lowest bid came from Cates and Erb, an Omak firm, at $418,569.

Architect Cameron Golightly, also of Design West, the Pullman firm doing the drawings, told board members that Elder Demolition would like to get started the week of July 23.

Elder will have 75 days to complete the razing of Wright and get the site ready for construction.

School officials stated that they were hopeful that 75 percent of the building would be recyclable.

Elder not only has to demolish the building and clean up surrounding asphalt and concrete, but has the major task of abating hazardous materials, such as asbestos.

Prior to bidding, about a dozen interested parties showed up to inspect the building and review the hazardous materials report from Fulcrum, a consulting firm for the district.

Only three general contractors made official bids on the project.

The building is laced with asbestos, evidenced by the report from Fulcrum, who punched inspection holes in the walls to determine what hazardous materials were in the school. This report was made available to bidders.

Officials have stated that the building will be covered with plastic while workers remove asbestos and any other hazardous materials. The abatement could take as long as four weeks, one official stated, after which the building will be razed.