BLYTHEWOOD – As a paint and construction crew began tearing wallpaper off the walls of town hall on the morning of Sept. 9, during scheduled repair/paint work, town officials say a black substance that appeared to be mold or mildew was discovered on the kitchen wall of the 200-year-old building.
“First Class Construction had begun work about 9 a.m. to update and paint the interior of the building,” said Town Administrator Daniel Stines. “Crews placed plastic and tape over the doors, duct work and adjoining office doors. The work area (kitchen, conference room and office formerly used by town administrators) was sealed from the adjacent office areas where staff offices are located, and the renovation work in the sealed areas continued.”
Stines had a phone conference with Mayor Sloan Griffin, who is currently working in Florida, to determine a course of action. The conclusion was to allow staff the option for remote work from home as the work continued.
But a majority of council members questioned that plan.
After discussing protocol with the town attorney for a special called meeting in the absence of the mayor, Mayor Pro Tem Donald Brock issued an agenda for the meeting to be held on Thursday, Sept 12, to “discuss construction and renovations of the town hall.” Four council members – Brock, Erica Page, Rich McKenrick and Andrea Fripp were present.
“Council members are concerned about our town hall employees working in the building if mold is, indeed, present on the walls,” Brock said at the meeting. “So, after consulting with our town attorney, I called a special meeting so council could discuss with our town administrator what course of action to follow. The mayor was invited to the meeting, but declined, citing his work schedule in Florida.”
In the meantime, construction workers tore out the affected drywall, bagged and discarded it, and staff continued to work from home. Stines said he continued to monitor the situation.
Staff called A-1 Air Quality Consultants on Sept. 10 to schedule an air quality test which took place Sept. 11. During the Sept. 12 special called meeting, staff informed council the test results were not available at that time and provided a project update.
McKenrick and others on council insisted that surface (lift) testing should be carried out by a mold specialist, but Stines said the A1 owner said it doesn’t do any good to do surface testing if the mold isn’t airborne.
“He said if it’s not airborne, you’re not breathing it,” Stines said. “He also said there are only certain types of mold that are concerning.
“The concern is that we’re renovating the interior of a 200-year old building that we know has had roof leaks. We didn’t know the substance was behind the wallpaper in the kitchen until we ripped it off,” McKenrick said. “Test it. Find out what it is.”
McKenrick said that water leaking from the roof was likely feeding the mold. He said he would like to see the replacement of the roof become the construction priority.
The air quality results came back at approximately 9 p.m., on Sept. 12, following the special called meeting. The results were negative in staff offices, according to Stines, but the presence of mold was found in the quarantined construction area where disturbances were taking place.
“I called Pulliam Restoration on Sept. 13 to request a second air quality test and consultation on mitigation,” Stines said. “After conducting an onsite visit, Pulliam Restoration advised that no additional testing was necessary at that time, and after their review, the test provided by A1 Air Quality Consultants provided Pulliam the information they needed to mitigate the issue.
“A1 Air Quality Consultants and Pulliam Restoration both stated that mildew and mold are un-regulated substances and the mitigation measures are simply best practices,” Stines said. “Cleaning is generally the best practice, removal is an alternative depending on the severity. It was stated the condition of Town Hall was typical based on the age of the structure.”
On Friday, Sept. 13, Stines and Mayor Griffin conducted a zoom meeting call with town hall staff providing them an update of the test results and a modified work plan to work from Doko Manor the week of Sept. 16.
Pulliam Restoration arrived at Town Hall Sept 16 to begin a deep clean of the building.
“Their work is to conclude on Sept 19,” Stines said. “A second air quality test will be performed on Sept 20 to determine if the air quality has been mitigated throughout the building.”
Town hall is tentatively scheduled to reopen Sept 23. Once the interior work is completed, crews will move to the exterior, where the building will receive fresh paint, new gutters and a new roof.
Final test results should be available next week.
