Due in part to concerns over the actual cost of removing floor and ceiling tiles that contain Class Two asbestos, along with other debris, the City of Forks has rejected the first set of bids for clearing debris from the burnt-out International Order of Odd Fellows/Rainforest Arts Center site.

The announcement was made at the Monday, Nov. 26 meeting of the Forks City Council by City Attorney/Planner Rod Fleck.

Local contractors on the City of Forks small works roster who bid on the job attended the meeting. 

Fleck said to be fair to the bidders more information is needed on the clean-up cost before a final bid is accepted.

Fleck said an expert asbestos removal consultant based in Yakima would be working with the City of Forks later this week in analyzing the materials at the fire site, and helping to determine clean-up procedures needed to safely remove and depose of the debris, and to determine which on-site materials like steel and wood beams, can be recycled.

Class 2 asbestos removal involves materials that the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration deems are “not thermal system insulation, such as resilient flooring and roofing materials containing asbestos.”

A new set of bids is now slated to be sent out by the Monday, Dec. 10 meeting of the Forks City Council.

The initial bids ranged from a low of $44,000 to a high of $115,000, Fleck said.

Small works roster paperwork filing problems also affected the certification of the bids, he told the City Council.

The City Council voted unanimously to allow the city administration to go out for another set of bids.

Fleck said the Alaska-based finance company that owns the former Olympic Pharmacy property has yet to announce its clean-up plans for that side of the burnt out  site located at the corner of Division Street and Forks Ave.