Delays have plagued the Borough of Hellertown's efforts to demolish the aged Reinhard School building this year, and on Dec. 19 borough council was told about another delay.

Demolition of the 101-year-old Northampton Street school was supposed to have begun earlier this month, but the borough's engineer explained that an issue related to Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) notification of asbestos abatement has temporarily halted plans to proceed with razing the structure.

It had been hoped that the demolition would be completed before the start of the new year.

And it was originally thought that the vacant, borough-owned building--which was last used in 2006--would be torn down over the summer.

Borough Manager Cathy Kichline later clarified the engineer's meeting update on Reinhard by stating that "the contractor had to submit a 10-day notice of asbestos abatement to DEP for asbestos that is known to remain, and that names the abatement contractor and name of landfill."

"The 10-day notice gives DEP the opportunity to inspect during abatement, to ensure compliance with all disposal regulations," she added.

At the meeting, Kichline said she believes the demolition will begin very soon, in spite of the delay.

In the meantime, the contractor is preparing the site for the demolition to begin, the engineer said.

He noted that in delivering equipment to the site, the contractor damaged an inlet and curbing along East Saucon Street, but added that the damage has been documented for reimbursement purposes.

No plan exists for redevelopment of the Reinhard site, but the borough has formed a committee that is investigating various options with input from members of the public.