EDMONDS — Snohomish County is prepared to pay around $350,000 to clean a former motel contaminated by methamphetamine in Edmonds.
The county bought the Americas Best Value Inn at 22127 Highway 99 in Edmonds for $8.4 million in December. It was part of an announcement for deals there and at the former Days Inn motel near the Everett Mall. The county is converting both buildings into transitional housing, called New Start centers or facilities, for about 129 homeless people.
The Snohomish County Council on April 19 unanimously approved awarding a bid to Accurate Assessment (AA Decon) for abatement and decontamination at the Edmonds site. The Bellingham-based company submitted the lowest of two submitted bids at $348,999.92. The engineer’s estimate was $400,000.
Only 13 companies were certified by the state for drug lab decontamination as of mid-April, according to the state Department of Health.
A contract could be finalized next week, county Office of Recovery and Resilience spokesperson Kelsey Nyland wrote in an email to The Daily Herald. Once the contract takes effect, the company has 15 days to begin work and 30 days to complete it, Nyland wrote.
The county is seeking a different bid for the Everett motel. Getting separate bids can speed up work and improve competition in the bidding, Nyland wrote.
“By separating out the projects, we’re ensuring that one facility doesn’t slow down remediation work at the other,” Nyland wrote. “The New Start Center in Edmonds will likely be quicker to remediate because there are fewer rooms.”
There is room for 55 people at the Edmonds property and 74 people at the Everett facility.
Prior to the property sales closing, the county tested for meth contamination at both properties in late October.
Meth is a stimulant that affects the central nervous system, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The drug’s production can leave toxic waste and is dangerous, according to the state Department of Health.
Homeless people got vouchers from the county to stay at the Days Inn, but that ended in June before it closed and the deal was announced.
With the buildings vacant, the county hired security to prevent trespassing. The former Everett motel property has been fenced in.
The county plans to find on-site service providers for the New Start programs and property managers at the sites.
Designs, facility improvements and permits could be done by fall at the earliest.
Ben Watanabe: 425-339-3037; bwatanabe@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @benwatanabe.
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