Black mold in courthouse

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Black mold in courthouse

By Price, News-Leader

Thursday August 25, 2005

Fernandina Beach,FL

http://www.fbnewsleader.com/articles/2005/08/24/news/02newsblackmold.

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Black mold is growing inside the Nassau County Courthouse in

Fernandina Beach, and commissioners learned Monday it might take

more than $100,000 to fix.

The courtroom and other areas on the second floor of the 113-year-

old building on Centre Street in Fernandina Beach have been closed

for several days because of traces of black mold.

The county also closed off the judicial chambers, judicial breakroom

and a second-floor restroom after air samples showed higher than

normal spore counts of black mold on Aug. 12.

Built in 1892, the historic courthouse is one of the oldest

functioning courthouses in the state and was extensively renovated

four years ago at a cost of about $4 million.

Monday, the Nassau County Commission unanimously approved a

resolution to retain the renovation architects to find a solution to

the black mold, which can cause allergy symptoms and, in some cases,

more severe reactions.

County Administrator Mike Mahaney said it could cost more than

$100,000, and commissioners were miffed by recurring problems at the

building since the renovation.

" I can't believe it, " Commission-er nne Marshall said. " I'm

truly appalled at what we're spending, and that building was just

renovated. "

Commissioner Tom Branan also voted to retain the architects, but

grumbled about the eventual costs.

" Throwing money down a hole, " he said.

Prior to the meeting, Mahaney said the county was waiting for the

results of environmental tests to determine whether other areas of

the courthouse have also been affected and might need to be closed.

Currently, Judge is holding court hearings in the law

library on the first floor.

said he expects to continue working from the courthouse. " I

haven't received any notice of (evacuation), " he said.

" ... I'm waiting on the county manager to find out the full extent

of the problem. "

He said business has gone on as usual on the first floor of the

building. " There have been people here working since the

problem was discovered, " said.

All other areas of the courthouse were open, pending the results of

further air tests. County Building Maintenance Director

Salmon said he was optimistic about the results because other areas

of the courthouse are on separate air conditioning systems.

" I do not expect there to be elevated counts of fungal spores

anywhere else in the building, " he said.

Nassau County Sheriff Tommy Seagraves said the mold has not affected

how his office serves the courthouse.

" We ... provide protection for the judge and the courthouse, and

that's what we've continued to do, " Seagraves said. " It hasn't

really affected us at all. "

This is not the first time the county has had problems with water at

the courthouse since its renovation.

Shortly after the building re-opened in 2002, the second floor began

to drip water in the summers when temperatures and humidity were

high.

Salmon said hot moist air in the attic caused condensation to form

on the air conditioning vents, which dripped into the courtroom,

offices and chambers. Efforts to fix the problem have been

unsuccessful.

He did not believe the mold had anything to do with the building's

age.

" It can happen just as easy in a brand new building, " he said. " Any

time you have moisture on anything that could be considered food for

fungus to grow on, such as wood sheet rock, or even masonry, mold

will grow. "

Malcom contributed to this report.

bprice@...

Story created Aug 24, 2005 - 15:43:45 PDT.