The Municipality of Leamington has awarded Saladria Limited the contract to tear down the old Leamington District Secondary School.
The demolition is expected to take up to six months, and the municipality is in a rush to tear it down after toxic materials, including asbestos, lead, and mercury, were found at the site.
Leamington received ten bids for the work, but Saladria had the lowest bid at $822,000.
A second tender will be issued to create a new habitat for a colony of Chimney Swifts that have made a home for themselves in the school's chimney.
The bird isn't endangered, but it is considered a threatened species, and both federal and provincial legislation require the town to replace the habitat once the school is demolished.
"The legislation is clear," said Leamington's Director of Infrastructure Services, Robert Sharon. "As owner of this property where this habitat is found, if we're going to demolish it, we have to replace it."
The legislation requires the municipality to replace the habitat before the Chimney Swifts, a migratory bird, return to the region in the spring. It also dictates that the new habitat has to be within a specific distance of the old one.
Councillor Larry Verbeke asked why the school’s chimney couldn't be left standing for the birds, but Sharon said the idea was explored and deemed unfeasible.
"That chimney will not have the structural capacity to stand on its own," explained Sharon. "The first 31 feet of the chimney is actually supported by the school itself, and only the top 25 feet is free-standing."
Leamington has $40,000 in its contingency reserve to fund the design of the new habitat.
