NEW BERLIN – Village Mayor Wade Schrag hopes that by the end of this year, the municipality can accept bids from area contractors to remove a condemned, three-story building that’s blighted Main Street for nearly three years.

Since Chenango County Code Enforcement officials closed off the site in early January 2008, the village has sought a solution on the issue, initiating public hearings, filling out grant applications, completing state required reviews and even considering taking legal action before eventually buying the delinquent property at a public auction in July.

After leaping over what was believed to be the last bureaucratic hurdle in June, when the village received final approval for demolition and grant funds from the state, Schrag projected the building would be demolished by the end of summer.

However, that assessment was met with another issue this September when contractors reviewing the building discovered “some” asbestos in the construction material, demanding yet another analysis of the site before demolition could proceed, explained the mayor.

“At the moment an engineer is doing up the specifications on how to safely demolish and remove the debris. We’re hoping to have the analysis back to board members before the next meeting in December,” said Schrag.