Several people’s trash will be one contractor’s treasure.
Off an old dirt road in northeast Coquitlam near Pinecone Burke Provincial Park, there are dilapidated buildings, abandoned vehicles, a rusted tractor, and 16 metal drums with unknown liquids sloshing inside.
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Coquitlam is now aiming to hire a cleanup crew to scrub the site.
The municipality bought the properties from the province in 2014.
“There were a number of vacant, unauthorized buildings and structures in disrepair,” explained the city’s director of city lands and real estate Curtis Scott.
The contractor is tasked with demolishing two houses and the wood-framed workshop as well as removing any “liquids and sludges” including diesel fuel and unleaded gasoline, from the site, according to the city’s recently issued Request For Proposals.
The buildings on site are unstable, “likely to be unsafe to enter,” and may contain asbestos.
“As such, all building debris must be treated and disposed of as asbestos waste,” according to the RFP.
The off-grid location may present several challenges for a contractor. Besides bears and insects, the terrain is rough and the site includes both an unlicensed dam and unmaintained roads, according to the city.
Any demolition must not send any sediment or waste into nearby streams, the RFP specified.
The lucky contractor will also be charged with getting rid of multiple fuel tanks, a collapsed RV, old appliances including at least one oven and large metal pipes.
The dam is also set to be removed as the site is remediated.
The approximately two-week job is set to wrap up by Sept. 25.
Before work can start, the contractor is slated to complete a brief training session in the event something of archaeological significance is uncovered.
The city is accepting bids on the job until Aug. 25.
