Now we know why Fayette County schools canceled deal for middle school land: Asbestos.

Asbestos was found on the 20 acres of land along Squires Road that Fayette County school officials decided not to purchase from the Kentucky American Water Company to build a middle school.

The information about the asbestos on the property came in a letter from an environmental consultant to Fayette school officials obtained by the Herald-Leader under the Kentucky Open Records Act. Asbestos is no longer used in building material because of its health risks.

In January, after months of negotiation, the Fayette County school board voted to purchase the land, which is located within a planned residential area, for about $2 million. But in March, the school board voted to terminate the contract, with district officials only saying at the time that land was found unsuitable after it was scrutinized during a "due diligence" period.

Susan Lancho, a Kentucky American Water Co. spokeswoman did not elaborate in March on why the contract was terminated but said the water company would work with other interested buyers.

Lancho said the asbestos is from old water main pipes. The pipes themselves are not an environmental hazard. Removal of the pipes poses the environmental concern, she said.

Lancho said in an email that a portion of the Squires Road property was used "sparingly for holding old pipe that was removed as water mains were repaired or replaced..." She said the water company shared that information with prospective buyers.

Myron Thompson, chief operations officer for Fayette County Public Schools, confirmed Wednesday that asbestos was the reason that the district did not buy the property.

A March 9 letter from officials in the Lexington firm Amec Foster Wheeler Environment and Infrastructure, Inc. to Bill Wallace, the school district's Facilities Design & Construction Director, said "debris material samples were collected which identified the disposal of asbestos containing debris in some areas."

The letter said it could cost at least $1 million to remove the material and deal with the associated land issues.

"The environmental study revealed the environmental issues and the additional costs related to those just made the site not desirable," Thompson said Wednesday.

Amec Foster Wheeler officials also said in the letter that "we understand that the boundaries for the 20-acre parcel set aside for the middle school may be changing as a result of discovering a cemetery on the property."

The cemetery was a consideration, Thompson said, "but we could have worked around that."

"There are some regulations in terms of dealing with burial grounds that we would have had to contend with, but we were prepared to do that.," he said.

Thompson said it was the environmental issues, the asbestos, that "were a little too much."

He noted that the consultant pointed out in the letter that it was difficult to be certain that "all the disposal areas have been found.."

"It is still possible that previously unidentified areas will be encountered during construction," the letter said..

Thompson said Kentucky American Water was selling the property to the school board "as is."

On March 14, George Allgeier Jr. , an attorney for the Fayette Board of Education , wrote a letter to Kentucky American Water Corporate Counsel David Hinkson, notifying him that the school board would terminate the contract. The letter. obtained by the Herald-Leader through an open records request, did not mention a reason. Allgeier and Hinkson had had a phone conference the previous day, the letter noted.

In the letter, Allgeier thanked Kentucky American Water for "working with us in trying to acquire a new middle school site."

"We are all disappointed that this transaction could not be completed," Allgeier wrote.

The middle school site is in the center of an already approved Ball Homes development that includes hundreds of homes, townhomes and apartments. The issue of asbestos on the property was not raised during public hearings on a zone change for that development. The 90-acre development was approved by the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council in April.

Asbestos on the property was mentioned in meetings about Ball's final development plan after the zone change was approved, neighbors of the development said.

"It was mentioned and it appeared the planning staff knew but not much was done or said about it," said Suzanne Bhatt, who lives across from the proposed Ball Homes development. The Bhatts are now moving out of state.

A lawyer who has represented Ball Homes did not immediately respond to emails requesting comment.

Thompson said Wednesday that district officials have not yet identified another site for a new public middle school in Lexington.

This story was originally published May 2, 2018 at 12:47 PM with the headline "Now we know why Fayette County schools canceled deal for middle school land: Asbestos.."