Palmerton Area School District is still gathering quotes for the demolition of a field house struck by a vehicle on its Seventh Street property last May.

Interim Business Manager Al Lonoconus said during a Feb. 1 workshop that the district has one price for demolition to date, which came in at $24,000.

Lonoconus three estimates have also come in for a 24-by-28-foot portable garage to replace the building, with those prices ranging from $16,500 to $24,571.

The field house is used exclusively for storage by the Palmerton Booster Club, which holds practices at the facility, but plays its games at the high school stadium.

“We have to, by law, get more quotes for demolition so we are getting those right now,” Lonoconus said. “We’ll come back to the board with those quotes.”

If the district demolishes the field house, it will need to expand the exterior fence around that corner of the property, which is estimated to cost around $6,000.

When the crash occurred, Francis Botek, 81, of Lehighton, was traveling east on Delaware and wanted to make a U-turn to go west, but according to police, his gas pedal became stuck. The vehicle traveled across Delaware Avenue into the field house, leaving significant structural damage.

Initial discussion centered on whether the district would be able to save the current field house by making repairs. Palmerton received $98,000 through an insurance claim following the crash.

“I went out and reviewed the field house with the facilities crew,” Lonoconus said. “It is past repair. An initial price to save it came out to $102,000 based on just site repairs, but the chances are high it would cost even more.”

The district measured the square footage of the room currently used by the boosters for storage to determine what size portable structure it would need.

“There was an initial request for a 50-by-50-foot metal pole barn, but the advantage of a portable building is if the use of that site ever changes in the future and the structure has to be moved, it’s much easier to move a portable garage than a large pole barn,” Lonoconus said. “We’re still looking at the zoning aspects to see what has to happen as far as a base with a new portable building.”