POULSBO — Demolition of the old city hall on Jensen Way could take place as early as July 18.

On July 6, City Council members approved Rhine Demolition’s $163,204.31 bid to take down the structure — more than $16,000 below the city engineers’ estimate of $179,313.14. Other bidders included 3 Kings Environmental ($235,362.01), Port Madison Enterprises ($239,815.81), and Ascendent LLC ($179,911.88).

The city had also asked for optional bids for backfilling the hole left from the demolition and for tearing down houses on two city-owned properties on Seventh and Eighth streets. Bids on the three optional items came in well above the city’s estimates and budget, in part because of the need to dispose of hazardous materials discovered in the two old houses.

Bids to demo the two houses will be re-let in the near future; the developer has agreed to be responsible for backfilling the old city hall site before starting construction on apartments and retail on the site.

“The city had hoped that, by bundling the three demolition projects together, it might save money. That didn’t prove to be the case,” a city official said.