WOBURN - The city's School Building Committee appropriated another $193,000 for the Old Reeves demolition earlier this week after contractors discovered asbestos in the building's foundation.

According to City Engineer Jay Corey, the unexpected material was found as contractor North American Site Development stripped the building down to its foundation.

Prior to unearthing the asbestos, which was found in the insulation between the facility and the foundation, city officials had hoped that the Peabody-based demo firm would complete the job by mid-August.

Upon being notified of the asbestos, Corey contacted state officials, who agreed to quickly approve a removal plan for the hazardous material, but with one condition: Remove the entire foundation, rather than a portion as previously planned.

In the end, the Building Committee agreed that completing the demo job prior to the September opening of school was more important than saving money by leaving the slab in place.

"We could submit a work plan allowing us to leave a portion of the foundation in place to save cost; however, the DEP would take several weeks to review and approve such a plan, resulting in the project running past the school opening date," Corey explained to Mayor Thomas McLaughlin in an Aug. 16 memo.

"The be all and end all is that they've [the Department of Environmental Protection], approved a work order in three-days," the City Engineer told Building Committee members this week.

Building Committee member Patricia Mistretta later asked Corey if any of the other previous bids for the job included contingencies for asbestos abatement.

However, upon learning that a bid process would draw-out the process, potentially delaying the completion date until after school opening, Mistretta remained satisfied with the approach endorsed.

Although city officials had hoped to spare the expense of removing the foundation, the required removal of the concrete slap opens up different redesign opportunities for the space.

Currently, a playground, field, and court area is planned for the site of the Old Reeves, in addition to new pathways, pick-up and drop-off modifications, and landscaping.

The total redesign, which is expected to be completed by September of 2008, will cost $380,000, according to estimates from engineering firm Weston & Sampson.

"We were contemplating a bus turn around for the entrance. So if we went with that, we' have to take [the slab] out eventually," Corey said.

Despite the unexpected expense, the overall budget is still expected to be sufficient to complete the multiphase demolition job, even with a significant portion of the City Council's $1.5 million appropriation being transferred for the high school project.

According to Corey, because of North American Site Development's low base bid, which came in at $300,000, the costs of both razing and reconfiguring the building site is expected to carry a total price tag of $789,605.

"The total amount of funds appropriated to date, including prior school residuals of $139,000, is $1,639,000," explained Corey. "On this basis, all proposed work could be implemented and a surplus of approximately $440,000 would remain upon completion."

Based upon the current timetable, construction documents for the redesign work would be issued next January and bid on the following month. The project would then be awarded in the early spring of 2008, with the site work beginning that June.