Rossmoor Accepts Bid to Demolish School Buildings

Rossmoor Community Services District directors tentatively accepted a $10,000 bid by a Capistrano Beach construction firm last week to demolish four buildings at a former school site.

H&M; Construction’s bid is 12.5% of what officials thought it would cost to demolish the buildings. They had estimated that it would cost about $80,000.

The demolition work will not begin until the company is able to obtain permits, proof of insurance and other documents, officials said.

“The bid sounds too good to be true,” board director Joyce Bloom said. But “we don’t want to be accused of doing something not proper.”

General Manager Bill Sheldon said that William W. Wynder, the district’s attorney, will review the documents and draft a contract with the construction company.

The demolition of the buildings, formerly used as offices and classrooms, is part of the effort to convert the vacant Rush Elementary School--which the district bought three years ago from the Los Alamitos Unified School District--into a park.

Sheldon said that another company will begin later this month to remove asbestos found in the buildings. As soon as the asbestos removal is completed, the demolition work will start after the company obtains the necessary paperwork, he said.

The bid was low because H&M; Construction will also salvage wood, electrical parts and other reusable materials from the buildings that will be torn down, Sheldon said.

“They will take care of everything, including disposal of the debris,” he said.

Two other buildings, a 600-seat auditorium and offices behind the auditorium, will not be torn down. The auditorium is used for school graduations, school programs and other community events, he said.

Last year, the district sold $5 million in bonds to pay for the 8.5-acre site on Blume Drive. But after paying the school district $4.2 million and spending nearly $500,000 for the bond sale, the district has only $300,000 left for park improvements.

After several community forums, a master plan was drafted to develop the park, but officials said they are going slow in carrying it out because of the limited finances.

Board director Jim Alexander, who volunteered to find ways to develop the park without spending too much money, said that some of the work will be done by volunteers.

District officials said they will have a better idea of how to proceed after the buildings are torn down.