New London's Police Headquarters Plagued By Maintenance Problems

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New London's Police Headquarters Plagued By Maintenance Problems

City promises relief; leaky roof, mold-covered walls set for repairs

http://www.theday.com/eng/web/news/re.aspx?re=FEA0B1BC-2288-44A0-

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By ETHAN ROUEN

Day Staff Writer, Police/Fire Reporter

Published on 12/10/2005

New London,CT

New London —When the snow started falling Friday morning, the New

London Police Department got the buckets ready.

Garbage cans blocked hallways as water leaked through the police

station's roof. City workers moved frantically to carry computer

equipment out of a room that dripped like a shower.

The station, located at the corner of Eugene O'Neill Drive and Gov.

Winthrop Boulevard, is in shambles. The roof in some places is more

like a colander. Mold covers an entire wall of the dispatch center,

which has been evacuated. The temperature is often either too hot or

too cold.

At least 20 police union members have notified the union that they

have become ill because of the mold, and half of them have filed

injury reports, said Lt. Chip Segar, president of the officers'

union.

Kotecki, president of the public works union, which represents

police dispatchers, said two of his union members are out sick

because of the mold.

A recent windfall of $400,000 has some hoping that the cash-strapped

city will soon make much-needed repairs to the 20-year-old building.

On Tuesday, the City Council approved $194,000 to repair the

building's roof, which has been leaking since it was built, some

say. The following day, a window owned by the department

sold at auction for $400,000.

Segar said Thursday that City Manager Brown has agreed to go

over the building " with a fine-toothed comb " to make a list of

problems that need correcting.

" Things are moving along, " Segar said. " They're moving slowly. I

think we're both conscious of the fact that the city has a budget

crisis. "

Although he could not give an estimate for the total cost of

repairing the building, Brown said Friday that it may exceed

$400,000.

He said the city is currently developing a plan for the dispatch

center.

The mold was discovered Oct. 26 when workers were ripping down walls

for a planned update of the center. The city was hoping to complete

the update within 30 days, but work has come to a halt until after

bids to eliminate the mold are accepted.

According to an interoffice city memorandum provided to The Day,

Mystic Air Quality found three types of mold in the room:

Aspergillus, Exophiala and Penicillium.

Eident, one of the owners of Mystic Air, said the molds are

found in almost any home and are harmless except in high

concentrations. They can exacerbate prior respiratory conditions

like asthma.

Kotecki said his request to move the dispatch center to the roll

call room down the hall was ignored.

Instead, the center is now in a room adjacent to the former center.

It is about half the size of the former room. A gutter has been jury-

rigged through the center of the room to direct rain from the leaky

ceiling away from the electronics that fill every corner.