The company that is demolishing Fairport Harbor Village’s former water treatment plant will receive an extra payment of about $100,015 for removing materials that contained asbestos. Fairport Harbor Village Council, at its Sept. 17 meeting, approved a change order to an agreement with Moderalli Excavating for the water plant demolition project. In 2023, council selected Moderalli, of Poland, Ohio, to demolish the plant at a cost of about $316,708. Village government leaders had previously announced that the plant, located at 5 High St., would be disconnected and demolished after Painesville began supplying Fairport with bulk water. Fairport Harbor started receiving bulk water from Painesville in early October. Moderalli recently submitted a request to modify its agreement with Fairport Harbor for demolishing the water plant. The company wanted to bill the village an additional amount of about $100,015 for abating materials containing asbestos that were discovered during the demolition. Village Councilman Jeff McKinney asked Mayor Timothy Manross if an asbestos study was done at the plant prior to the building being torn down. Manross said a study was performed, but the asbestos discovered by Moderalli was encased in concrete. “And there were no drawings or anything to indicate that we would have found (the asbestos),” Manross said. “We were all quite shocked.” CT Consultants, which serves as the village’s engineering firm, reviewed the change order requested by Moderalli and recommended that Fairport Harbor make the payment. So far, council has approved three change orders in the contract for water plant demolition. Previously, Moderalli submitted change orders, which totaled about $25,000, for: • Cutting and capping the water main that connected the water treatment plant to the rest of the water system. • Plugging the intake pipe that brought raw water into the plant for treatment. The sum of all three change orders has increased the overall cost of the water plant demolition to about $441,668 from $316,708. Moderalli is continuing its work on demolishing the plant, said Village Administrator Lukas Darling, in a Sept. 20 email. “Currently, all that remains is the floor,” he said. “After that is removed, the company will remove some minor site features and begin site restoration, which includes grading and seeding.” Fairport Harbor’s water treatment plant was built about 90 years ago. In recent years, village government officials noted that the plant had become costly to maintain and upgrade. The village faced financial challenges in trying to comply with Ohio Environmental Protection Agency mandates for operating public water plants. Fairport Harbor officials had said these Ohio EPA requirements seemed to be constantly changing and becoming more restrictive. In addition, the former plant was situated along a section of Lake Erie shoreline that has often been touted as an attractive location for economic development. Village government leaders also are tracking the progress of another major project related to the water distribution system. A new water tower is being built behind the village Service Department at 1340 East St., which is next door to the Fairport Harbor Senior Center. The tower will have a 250,000-gallon capacity for water. It will replace a similar, but smaller, structure in the village. The current water tower — which was constructed in 1935 and has a 200,000-gallon capacity — is based on Orchard Street. That tower stands 147 feet tall, 8 feet shorter than its eventual successor. It’s anticipated that the new water tower will be completed and begin operating by the end of 2024. At that point, the tower on Orchard Street will be demolished.