City hall moving because of mold

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City hall moving because of mold

ville, MO

Friday, July 1, 2005 7:52 AM CDT

http://www.perryvillenews.com/articles/2005/07/01/news/news04.txt

An unhealthy work environment is the driving force behind the

decision to move City Hall to a new location.

At the City Council meeting on Tuesday, June 21 the board of

alderman entered into a contract to purchase the former

Construction building on the corner of Grand Avenue and West Street.

According to Bill , the building was built in the early 1900s

and was remodeled about 30 years ago when the two buildings were

merged into one. , the assistance police chief, works at City

Hall.

" The interior and exterior of the building is in bad shape, " said

City Clerk Marilyn Dobbelare. " That is a concern to everyone working

in the building. There is a lot of mold in the interior in several

places and that becomes a health concern. "

The wall where the mold is in the police dispatch area on the first

floor was repaired three times in the past 10 years. Within the past

12 months the mold has come back through the wall and it is in the

worse shape it has been.

" The building is not a healthy environment to work in, " said Chief

of Police Tarrillion. " With the high mold content in the walls

and the mold and mildew in the basement it is not a healthy

environment to be breathing in those toxins for an eight hour

shift. "

The basement of the building, which houses all the phone lines and

alarm systems throughout town, floods when there is a rain storm.

" The moisture in the basement has caused some problems throughout

the years, " said Tarrillion. " The phone lines and emergency lines

run through the basement and we also store paperwork down there.

After a while mold will start to grow on the paperwork. "

" We had two options, " said City Administrator Bill . " We could

either repair the existing building or look for another one that is

free of those problems.

" It is very, very expensive to repair the building even with just

the mold abatement and then there are still other problems. The

board considered all options and decided move to building. "

The board will pay $340,000 for the new facility.

" The primary concern is the health of our employees, " concluded

. " We want our employees to be able have a healthful working

environment and by moving to the building we will be able

to achieve that. "

The current City Hall building at 120 N. St. will eventually

be razed. The city administrative offices will move to the

building when it's renovated. The Police Department will move across

the street, where its administrative offices are already located.

No timeline has been set for the move.