Mold woes force town office moves

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Framingham,MA

Mold woes force town office moves

By Gentes / Daily News Staff

Sunday, November 13, 2005

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

articleid=114252

SOUTHBOROUGH -- Local town departments are about to begin an office

shuffle over the next two months.

Youth and Family Services is set to move out of Fayville Hall

Nov. 19 and the Recreation Commission is scheduled to move out of

its current home, a small building near Town Hall that it shares

with the Historical Commission, on Dec. 3.

The relocation is due to a lack of municipal space in town and

a mold problem that has plagued Fayville Hall, where two offices are

still located.

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

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

spores. The Central Street hall houses the Department of Youth and

Family Services and the Facilities Department.

This summer, Facilities Manager Basilio said the hall is

damp, full of mold and needs to be sanitized. Hub Testing laboratory

examined the building over the summer and found mold, including

common allergenic fungi, outdoor fungus and mushrooms.

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

sanitized and deodorized, the lab reported. It would cost about

$23,000 to fix the hall's mold and moisture problem.

said yesterday it will cost about $4,000 to move the

Recreation Commission to an office in the Neary Elementary School

and about $11,000 to move the Youth and Family Services to

Cordaville Hall, home to the Senior Center.

The cost of the Recreation Commission relocation is for moving

and rearranging electrical wires and data lines, he said.

For Youth and Family, 's crew had to build two new offices

in the basement of Cordaville Hall. The cost is a combination of

moving, construction costs, and electrical upgrades, he said.

" We're getting Youth and Family out on the 19th of this month

and if all goes well, after that, we can attack the mold, "

said.

said his department is still in Fayville Hall. He hopes to

remain in the hall during the sanitizing, until a building in town

opens up to house the Facilities Department.

He said he will present his plan to selectmen Nov. 29 and if

approved, he will remain in Fayville and do the sanitizing.

Otherwise, he said he would consider occupying Fire Station 2, used

for storage by the Fire Department.

, director of the Recreation Commission, said the

new space her department is moving into isn't that much larger than

its existing quarters. " We won't know completely till we get there

but it's not ideal, " said.

She said the new office is next to a classroom that can be

noisy because it's separated only by a partition.

" We'll be making due until we get a permanent plan, " she said.

Selectman Bonnie Phaneuf said the relocation was approved by

the selectmen and the funding was approved by both the selectmen and

the Advisory Committee.

She said the town is examining municipal facilities as part of

a long-range plan and considering the best use for Fayville Hall.