The Salisbury Township School District school board members were updated on the Salisbury High School gym floor at the March 3 operations committee meeting.

In January, a broken sprinkler line caused damage to the auxiliary gym floor (old gym). The floor was damaged beyond repair and during an investigation, a non-friable asbestos-containing mastic material was discovered.

Students, staff and the public were notified, according to Superintendent Michael Roth, and the board gave its approval for an asbestos abatement project.

"This project has been designed to meet all applicable state and federal EPA regulations by the managing environmental company, Element Environmental Solutions," Roth said. "Element Environmental Solutions is a Pennsylvania-licensed abatement-managing firm that will provide a representative to be onsite throughout the duration of the project. This representative will monitor all work and provide the necessary air quality testing to ensure a safe environment at all times.

"We assure you that air quality will be monitored continuously during the entire abatement process. Contiguous air samples (outside of the containment area) will be taken to ensure isolation during the removal process. All applicable state and federal guidelines will be strictly followed. Stringent visual inspections will be completed after abatement to ensure proper removal."

Questions regarding the asbestos removal process were directed to Director of Facilities William Brackett, and as of the March 3 meeting, no calls had been received.

Roth said he had a few questions from students which he answered.

Brackett said the asbestos removal project is expected to be completed by March 12 when final air clearances should be provided.

The insurance company said the district has a cap of $400,000 for all high school damage from the broken sprinkler line. The total cost to remove the asbestos is estimated to be $27,000 which is expected to be covered by the insurance.

The board again discussed the replacement floor for the old gym. Brackett said to replace the floor as is would be approximately $145,000. It is a more modern wood floor. A wood floor is assessed every year for scratches and a water- based polyurethane is applied.

A rubberized floor would be cleaned using the existing machines and does not require the same maintenance as a wood floor.

In other business, sections of the newly installed sidewalk at Salisbury Middle School are showing "a substantial upheaving of concrete" according to Brackett. The section in front of the school is uneven and cracks have been identified. Brackett said the contractor has been contacted and the work will be addressed when the weather clears.

Brackett also informed the board of water damage to the lower level of the administration building where the district and Salisbury Youth Association wrestling teams practice. Sometime between Feb. 22 and 24, a sink came off the wall and the pipe broke, spraying water for 24 to 36 hours. The maintenance staff members handled the cleanup. They took the mats up for the floor to dry, put dehumidifiers in the room and used moisture meters to monitor progress.

At this time, no one seems to know how this happened.

"Sinks don't typically fall off walls," Brackett said. "We'll get it cleaned up and put back together."

Roth has collected all keys for the downstairs area. Administration is working on ways to make the area more secure and systems to track who uses the facility. Brackett said a card swipe system would be very easy to install and would cost approximately $2,000.