There's a hall of a lot of problems

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There's a hall of a lot of problems

By Gentes / Daily News Staff

Friday, July 15, 2005

Framingham, MA

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?

articleid=103732

SOUTHBOROUGH -- The fate of Fayville Hall and the possible shuffling

around of three town departments was the topic of discussion at the

Board of Selectmen's meeting this week.

The 100-year-old building, part of which had been declared

unsafe by the town building inspector in 2002, is now plagued with

mold spores and needs to be sanitized.

Currently, the Central Street hall is home to the Department of

Youth and Family Services and the Facilities Department.

At Tuesday's Board of Selectmen meeting, Facilities Director

Basilio told board members the hall is full of mold growth, has

a lot of water infiltration and needs to be sanitized. said the

facility does not have to be evacuated, but remediation of the

building is necessary.

Hub Testing laboratory conducted testing in the building last

month. The lab found mold ranging from common allergenic fungi,

outdoor fungus and mushrooms.

One mold was found in the basement and rear attached section of

the building: stachybotrys. Chronic exposure to the toxin produced

by the fungus can cause sore throats, headaches, diarrhea, fatigue,

cough, intermittent hair loss, according to the lab report.

The toxins produced by the fungus can suppress immune system,

affecting the lymphoid tissue and bone marrow, the report states.

told the board that none of the mold is deadly but

individuals may have a reaction to some of them.

Only the first floor the building is being used, he said, and

no staff members have had problems with the mold.

He said if members of the public came into Fayville, it's not

known how they could be affected.

" But keep in mind mold is everywhere in the outside air, "

said.

Moisture needs to be sealed off, the building needs to be

sanitized and deodorized, the lab reported.

said if the hall was empty, it could be cleaned up in

about two weeks.

Board Chairman Christensen asked why the building just

couldn't be torn down. " I don't want to see a cent spent on the

former VFW Hall portion, " Christensen said. " It's already been

condemned. "

" I'd like to see everyone out of Fayville, " he said.

Selectman Challen asked about removing the condemned

portion and putting in an exterior wall.

" We don't have a lot of space, " Challen said of the town's

buildings. " Fixing the mold problem provides only temporary space. "

It would cost about $23,000 to fix the hall's mold and moisture

problem.

The board also discussed shuffling around town offices,

including the Recreation Department, Facilities Department and

Department of Youth and Family Services, part of a larger plan for

updating and renovating town buildings to increase municipal space.

That may include renovating Cordaville Hall.

Selectmen suggested several options, including moving the

Department of Youth and Family Services into the basement of

Cordaville Hall; using Fire Station 2 for the Facilities Department

office; and keeping the Recreation Department in its current space

and allowing a school office to be used a few hours a day for the

director.

said he hopes eventually his department will move to

Cordaville Hall, but " we're pretty flexible. "

The board tabled the discussion until Tuesday's meeting to

gather more information.