LEROY, Minnesota (STPNS) -- It's not often the LeRoy City Council is asked to condemned a property; as a matter of fact, it's probably never happened before now.

Dave Lunning approach-ed the Council at their July 7 meeting as a spokesman for Bethany Bible Church. "We want a friendly condemnation," he said. "It's a lot cheaper to condemn it than to remove the asbestos. This will speed up the process [of getting rid of the building]."

In the process of tearing down the old church parsonage small traces of asbestos were found in the taping compound and ceiling texture. The cost to remove only one pickup load would be between $21,000 and $30,000.



Asbestos is a natural mineral fiber mined out of the ground and used in building materials and other products. It doesn't burn and is resistant to chemicals. When it is broken up or cracks, tiny fibers are released into the air which can get into the lungs when breathed. Asbestos can cause lung scarring and cancers. There is no known safe amount of asbestos that can breathed.

"We want to do the right thing," Lunning said. "If we soak it down, it [asbestos] can be removed without getting airborne."

A licensed abatement contractor will be onsite to supervise, then it will be taken to a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) approved landfill that accepts asbestos. There are approved landfills in Mankato, Minnesota and Lake Mills, Iowa. It is up to the MPCA when this will get done, but the target date is to have it completed by September 1, 2008.

A resolution passed for an agreement between Bethany Bible Church and the LeRoy City Council for the condemnation and removal of the hazardous building at 140 E. Main Street.