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Although the next chapter in the history of the Emerson Apartments has yet to be officially written, it does appear that for most practical purposes, the writing is already on the wall.

The Ward County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to hire asbestos expert Tim Blessum of Weathermen Inc. to spearhead the asbestos abatement process necessary before the building can be razed. Also, the board voted to authorize the county highway department to take bids on the building's demolition.

It has appeared somewhat certain for some time that the board would eventually tear the building down, but until the tenants were finally evicted about three weeks ago, it was tough to count the old building out just yet. The board has toyed with the idea for several years as the building fell more and more out of compliance with disability and building code issues, but each time the county moved to evict the tenants, it made an 11th hour decision to rescind the order.

Accordingly, the board was somewhat fearful of the potential cost of an asbestos removal process, thinking the building might be rife with the harmful material.

With Blessum, however, came good news. Out of a total of 30 samples taken from the building for asbestos testing, only six were found to contain the material.

If the building were to be renovated, Blessum said, no action would be necessary with the asbestos.

"If the building is to be demolished, essentially this material has got to come out of there first," Blessum said.

"In this instance, where we had estimated up to $150,000 in asbestos abatement at the get-go of this project, the way I calculate this, it's $6,800," said commission chairman Bruce I. Christianson.

"I'd be very surprised if it was much more than that," Blessum said.

Rick Melchert of the county highway department told the board that the building could possibly be removed by mid-February. As long as the demolition process starts within 24 hours of the completion of the asbestos abatement, Blessum said, the county would not have to pay to have the air quality monitored.