The old Powell High School gym will be coming down this summer.The Park County School District No. 1 board accepted a low bid from Cheyenne-based Brisco Demolition of $407,233 for the project, which includes site restoration following the demolition. Brisco's was the lowest of four bids submitted for the complete project, and Bauer Group Architects of Billings, which reviewed the bids for the district, recommended it be accepted.

An additional bid for asbestos removal from Safetech, Inc. of Billings also was approved. Safetech, which has done similar work for the district in the past, submitted a low bid of $24,340.

The entire cost will be paid with money provided by the Wyoming School Facilities Commission.

During discussion, district Superintendent Kevin Mitchell told the board that, following demolition, the area would become a grassy area with a sprinkler system installed.

Lee Craig asked why asbestos removal was necessary, since a previous asbestos-removal project had been carried out.

Mitchell responded that the earlier bid had been for removal of asbestos within the building, and had not included asbestos in the roof. Removing asbestos from the roof requires tearing up the roof, and at the time of the first project, the future of the gym still had not been determined.

Board members expressed surprise at the cost of the demolition, which was expected to be much higher. The School Facilities Commission has authorized more than $1 million for demolition by the district.

Craig noted that, in earlier estimates, the cost of material disposal alone was expected to be higher than the current bid.

Mitchell said the current economy has brought bids down, and packaging the project with a demolition project in Big Horn County District No. 3 also was a factor.

There was also discussion of the auditorium-natatorium, which will be on the list for demolition when the swimming pool is abandoned. There have been contacts with the district about saving the auditorium portion of the building, including one that proposes acquiring it to use as a church, but Mitchell said the district may need to keep that property for use as faculty parking for the middle school.

The old gymnasium was completed in 1949 and the building was expanded in the early 1970s. An evaluation of the state's school buildings after state courts ruled that the state was responsible for providing equitable school facilities determined that the building had structural shortcomings, especially with regard to seismic activity. Due to the cost of addressing those shortcomings, the state recommended replacing the gym and the old high school with a new building.

Since completion of the new Powell High School, the gymnasium has been mothballed and has not been available for use by the school or the public. Proposals to save the gym as a community recreation center have not been successful.

The space abandoned by the gym is included in district plans for a new Powell Middle School, a project that still is in the planning stages.