Early in February it appeared workers were beginning to demolish the old Homewood library at 17900 Dixie Highway. It was really a misunderstanding, according to Village Manager Napoleon Haney.

The building is slated to be torn down to make way for a new village water tower, but the date for demolition has not been set, according to Haney. 

The village has contracted for asbestos removal in preparation for eventual demolition, however, and that’s what the crews have been doing.

The damage to the roof a few weeks ago was the result of miscommunication between the contractor and the crew on the project, Haney said.

“They got a little bit too aggressive with removal of roof items,” he said at the village board meeting Tuesday. He was responding to a question about the building from Patrick McAneney, who is running for trustee in the April 1 election.

“They assumed that the building would be taken down soon so they just went all in and started dismantling the roof,” Haney said.

When Homewood officials learned of the roof damage, they stopped work and held a meeting with the contractor to clarify the timeline for the building’s demolition. Haney said the roof damage would be repaired by the contractor so the building would be presentable until the future demolition. Final payment for the asbestos work would be withheld until that roof work is done.