Mercer Island City Hall will remain closed throughout May, according to City Manager Jessi Bon’s update at the May 2 hybrid city council meeting.

After asbestos-contaminated broken tiles were discovered in the boiler room, which contains two air-handling units, the city temporarily shuttered the building on April 17 to ensure the safety of staff and visitors.

“We’ve gone through a couple rounds of testing. We have a few more things to take care of,” said Bon, adding that abatement work and cleaning are also on the city’s docket in the weeks ahead and they could reopen the building sooner if possible.

Environmental safety experts are pairing with the city to handle testing throughout the building.

City employees who are normally stationed in the building are presently working virtually, the police department has relocated to the Mercer Island Community and Event Center and municipal court staffers are operating at one of the fire stations. Police and Public Works response will continue per usual.

City hall, the court and the police department are all located on the city campus at 9611 SE 36th St.