Closed since 2001, the former Farmland Industries boiler house complex and the surrounding land show the ravages of nearly 50 years of use.

Warm up the bulldozers.

City commissioners Tuesday night unanimously approved a proposal to begin cleaning up old buildings, equipment and other debris at the former 467-acre Farmland Industries site.

And perhaps as an early Christmas present, the contractor said he plans to start work in the first week of January — several weeks earlier than once anticipated — and finish a month earlier than expected.

Commissioners followed their staff’s recommendation and awarded the project to Lawrence-based R.D. Johnson Excavating. Johnson is estimating that it will take his crews — which will include about 20 workers — four months to clean up the site, which is on the eastern edge of Lawrence along busy Kansas Highway 10.

“We’re excited about it, and we’re glad that we can keep the money for the project local,” Johnson said.

Commissioners did end up having some questions about the costs of the project. Commissioners approved Johnson’s proposal for a total of $252,000. That price allows Johnson to keep the first 1,500 tons of salvageable steel. The city will get to keep 25 percent of the value of any steel salvaged above the 1,500 ton mark.

At least one other bidder — Jordan Disposal Service/Gator Industrial of Joplin, Mo. — presented a proposal that would have been a lower cost to the city. City staff members estimated the proposal was about $30,000 lower than Johnson’s, but said they were comfortable going with Johnson’s proposal because they believed working with a local company would make it easier to track how the materials are disposed of and make it easier to negotiate if unforeseen issues arise at the site. The city is legally responsible for ensuring all the materials are disposed of properly.

“We know Roger, and we work with him a lot,” said Chuck Soules, the city’s director of public works. “We know he’s not going to burn any bridges.”

Roger Hines, an owner of the Joplin-based company, estimated his proposal actually was $100,000 to $150,000 less than Johnson’s. Soules, though, said he was confident that wasn’t the case. He said Hines was making inaccurate assumptions about some key provisions of Johnson’s proposal, and also was attempting to lower a key number in his proposal after details from the bids had been made public.

Commissioners, though, did agree to pull some work out of the contract and rebid it with the hopes of getting lower prices. Commissioners removed $180,000 worth of work to remove asbestos from boilers at the plant. City Commissioner Mike Dever — who is an environmental site consultant by trade — said he thought that portion of the bid was high because contractors weren’t sure how much asbestos was in the boilers. Dever recommended that an asbestos company do an inspection to determine the amount of asbestos, and then rebid the removal.

“It is possible we could end up saving $80,000 to $100,000 on the abatement,” Dever said.

Commissioners also are hoping that they’ll see their total cost decline as more steel gets salvaged from the site. Although Johnson is estimating 1,500 tons of steel at the site, the city and several other contractors estimated 3,000 tons or more. Steel prices are fluctuating, but the city believes the steel could sell for $185 a ton or more.

The city is cleaning up the property as part of an agreement it has with the state of Kansas and Farmland’s bankruptcy trust. The city received the property and access to an $8.6 million environmental remediation fund in exchange for assuming responsibility of cleaning up the property. The city will be able to use $33,000 from the fund for this portion of the project because it can only be used to address environmental issues. The remaining $219,000 for demolition work will be funded by general obligation bonds.

Ultimately, the city plans to convert the former fertilizer plant into a business and industrial park.