Despite a scare that led to a brief stop-work order, the first phase of removing the old Montezuma-Cortez High School is essentially complete.
The demolition company put final touches on the demolished northeast side of the building Wednesday afternoon. At Tuesday’s meeting of the Re-1 school board, the owner’s rep for the demolition project, Jim Ketter, told the board that abatement and demolition of certain portions of the building is “proceeding nicely.” Ketter said the material removed so far was deemed to be free of asbestos and hazardous materials, and most of it was hauled to the Montezuma County landfill. Last week, however, a citizen raised concerns in an email that said hazardous materials from the project were being dumped at a private waste site on County Road G. The school district issued a stop-work order Thursday to investigate the concern but has since resumed work, with a stipulation that all materials removed must go to the landfill or other state-approved site. Ketter said investigations are continuing. Board President Jack Schueneyemer commented, “Clearly the board and staff want everything to be done in a proper fashion.”
