Municipal Building repairs could cost 'millions'

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Municipal Building repairs could cost 'millions'

By: Burgoon, Staff Writer 11/17/2005

town Messenger Press - town,NJ

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?

newsid=15587277 & BRD=1091 & PAG=461 & dept_id=425686 & rfi=6

Washington officials mulling rebuilding, relocating options (Nov.17)

WASHINGTON - As the saying goes, when it rains, it pours. Then

it gets moldy, at least in Washington.

The mold invasion at the Municipal Building already forced out

workers there, whose officeswho have been temporarily have been

farmed out to other township-owned space. Then a testing firm

exposed " massive " amounts of black mold and the deeper problem of

perpetual and seemingly uncontrollable water seepage at the

Municipal Building. Add that to the acknowledged dearth of office

space and inadequate court facilities and Washington has a

multimillion-dollar problem on its hands.

Municipal Building woes have left the town with three choices -

pay millions to fix the building with no guarantee that renovations

will permanently keep out water, raze and rebuild or bail from the

building, sell the property and relocate municipal operations.

Every option will prove costly, so the town has its eye on the

best long-term solution, Mayor Dave Fried said Monday.

" From an early assessment it looks like court renovations,

mold remediation and work on the HVAC system could be in the

millions, " Mayor Fried said. " We don't have exact numbers yet, but

it will be difficult to commit that money to a building that's too

small when we don't know if we can keep the water out. That's just a

bad idea. "

Water problems in the 80-year-old building are rampant.

Workers have long complained about mold and humidity problems and

tests by Environ International Corp. of Princeton confirm those

issues.

According to a report released Nov. 10, there are " massive "

levels of black mold in the administrator's office following an

October flood. The testing company also discovered high humidity

levels, suggesting problems with the heating, ventilation and air

conditioning systems, which town officials already suspected.

The biggest question now is whether the building can be

permanently repaired. The foundation is old and the levels of mold

suggest long-term problems with seeping water. Without a guarantee

that someone can plug the leaking ship, the town is left with the

remaining options to either rebuild or move. Both choices include

several possible scenarios each.

At issue is the municipal complex's location - prime

commercial space on Route 130. Selling the land, and perhaps the

adjoining woods also owned by the town, could mean an additional

$100,000 a year in tax revenue if businesses come in, plus money

from the sale, Mayor Fried said.

If the town opts to move its municipal complex (which would

possibly include the police station, but not the library or Senior

Center, according to the mayor), operations would relocate to a less

commercially desirable spot in town. Washington, for example, owns

land on Gordon Road that could house a new municipal building.

Or offices could move to rented space, either permanently or

for several years before building a permanent municipal building,

Mayor Fried said. As a municipality, any rented land should be tax-

exempt, but it is unclear if Washington can secure that status on a

rental.

Officials are exploring the options and the council already

took the first steps at its Nov. 10 meeting to approve a $980,000

bond to fund rental space for several years. The money would pay for

the lease and, if necessary, taxes. The council will have a special

meeting Monday at 8:30 a.m. in the Senior Center to hold a final

vote on the bond ordinance.

In the end, the decisions on municipal space will likely come

down to dollars and cents.

" Is it better to rent space or build? If it's more economical

to build, then we'll build. If it's better to rent, then we'll

rent, " the mayor said, adding that a new municipal building and

court facilities could cost $2 million to $4 million, plus an

additional $50,000 per million dollars in loan interest.

Meanwhile, the town is not abandoning earlier plans to spend

$350,000 on trailers for Municipal Court. While it is not hard to

find rental space, whether temporarily or permanently, for municipal

offices, court ishard to accommodate.

There already were acknowledged space and security issues with

the court at the Municipal Building and finding appropriate

temporary space would be difficult, Mayor Fried said. Washington

already nixed an idea to hold court in extra Robbinsville High

School space because of security concerns.

The focus now is leaving the borrowed office and parking space

at the police substation and Senior Center and allowing workers to

get back to some semblance of normalcy, Township Administrator

Caffrey said.

" This is the kind of thing we can all live with in the short

term, but if you're talking a period of years, it becomes a

problem, " she said.