It's been smooth sailing for the Jim Thorpe contractor in charge of an asbestos abatament project at Lehighton Area Middle School.

Project manager Jeff Miller, of JMSI Environmental Corp., said Thursday that the abatement, which began over Thanksgiving break, left no airborne asbestos structures or elevated fiber levels when air sample checks were conducted.“To the best of my knowledge, we had few, if any, complaints regarding the completed work or the conditions that followed the work,” Miller said. “There was one documented instance of an odor caused by the floor tile mastic remover solvent, which was offensive to a few occupants. Following the incident, the process for removing the mastic was switched to involve more mechanical means and less chemical.”The abatement is being done ahead of a major renovation project at the school. Among the improvements will be a mechanical system overhaul and a roof replacement, according to district officials.The renovations are projected at a base cost of $10.92 million with the chance to jump to $11.8 million depending on any alternates added to the list.To date, Lehighton has paid JMSI $38,150 to design and manage the project, and $187,000 to Sargent Enterprises to do the abatement.Remaining paymements include $36,850 to JMSI and $157,900 to Sargent.Around 250 PCM and TEM air samples have been collected and analyzed.The next scheduled phase of work will occur during President's Day break in mid-February and will include abatement in the art and music areas on the main level.Additional work will take place during spring break, weekends in mid-May and conclude in June, after students are home for summer break.