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PARKERSBURG – A local contractor wants potential contracts they might bid on dealing with asbestos removal to be better defined in what the county is expecting from the work.

Representatives of Bosley Construction appeared before the Wood County Commission on Monday to address concerns they had regarding a demolition bid they submitted to the county to tear down the former Wood County Sheriff’s Department/Wood County Maintenance Department building at the corner of Second and Avery streets.

Last Thursday, the commission awarded the contract to Tim Graham Excavating of Parkersburg for $49,500 for the demolition of the building located at 328 1/2 Second St. which was over the submitted lowest bid of $43,000 from JC Bosley Construction in Parkersburg. Empire Builders in Parkersburg submitted a third bid of $155,000.

County officials said the Bosley bid specified that any asbestos removal would increase the price. The other two bids included asbestos removal and remediation.

President John C. Bosley Jr. said the original specs for the job only covered demolition and did not include asbestos removal which is why it wasn’t included in their bid and why they made the notation that asbestos removal would be at an additional cost.

“We believed that we would do the asbestos as an extra,” he said. “We gave you the right bid based on what you asked for.”

Bosley stressed that he wasn’t appearing before the commission in any kind of hope to get the job back.

They have been in business in the area for around 70 years and have done millions of dollars in development work in Wood County.

The county decided to go with Graham and they will accept that.

Maintenance Manager Mike Bosley said they were one of the most diverse contractors in the area and they have had experience bidding on numerous jobs.

“We know how all this stuff bids,” he said. “It is a shame to be here today.”

Commissioner Jimmy Colombo said the commission did not want to commit to an open-ended bid where they weren’t sure what the total cost would be. He thought that with this kind of work that would be included in any bids submitted.

John C. Bosley Jr. said they just want better clarification the next time of what is expected.

“Next time, let’s clarify what we got,” he said.

The Bosleys indicated they were open to working with the county again.

“We’re all friends here,” John C. Bosley Jr. said.

Mike Bosley believes the job will end up costing more than what the winning bid specifies with the amount of asbestos that will end up being found in the roof and in the building that might require a change order and more money from the county to cover the expected additional costs because of the amount of asbestos they believe is in there.

“We have looked at it,” John C. Bosley Jr. said. “We know there is (asbestos) tile in there.”

He urged the commission to change how the bidding is done and have them separate the asbestos removal as a separate bid in future projects.

“If you want to bid it as asbestos (removal) and demolition let us know,” he said.

The Bosleys stressed how they are straight with people and how they expected that in return.

County officials said that they may soon have to put a call out for bids on the former health department building on Sixth Street if it cannot sell at an upcoming auction.

Brett Dunlap can be reached at at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com