Leaky roof, black mold worry council

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Leaky roof, black mold worry council

Utilities supervisor says old City Hall still salvageable, wants

repairs made

The Cherokeean Herald - Rusk,TX*

BY JEREME HUBBARD

http://www.thecherokeean.com/news/2008/0423/Front_Page/005.html

Most people have heard the old saying that you should never judge a

book by its cover. The building that used to serve as city hall in

Alto is no exception. Although the adage usually applies to an

unpleasing exterior, this time it is the other way around.

The building's outside appearance does not accurately portray the

interior problems faced daily by Alto Utilities Department workers.

The Alto Utilities Department uses part of the old building to house

their tools and equipment, but as of late, they have had to be

careful where they store those items.

" With all the holes in the roof, we have to

be careful to store the things that are valuable in an area that

will not get wet during a storm, " said Alto Utilities Supervisor

Tyer. " Anything we put in this building is in danger of

getting wet, and when - not if, the roof caves in, we'll lose

everything in here. I just hope it's not when people are here. "

The roof in the part of the building that stores tools and parts has

a leak from the front of the building to the back, straight down the

middle of the ceiling.

There is a visible bow in the ceiling from all of the water that has

accumulated there. Black mold has grown in parts of the ceiling, and

the workers are concerned about the inhalation of the mold.

" The black mold has gotten so bad that we try to stay out of the

building as much as we can. Anytime we are in here, it's all we can

smell, " Mr. Tyer said. " We know that breathing all of that in is

definitely not good for our health. "

Next door to the storage facility is the rest of the building, which

used to house the city offices. While the problems in the storage

area are sizeable, the roof on the old office building is worse. The

front room of the building is in good shape, although moisture is

visible inside the panels in the ceiling.

However, the windows have been knocked out of the front façade. The

next room back shows a little more wear and tear, but the room

following that one reveals the worst damage in the entire building.

" You can see by looking up at the roof that this is not a safe

situation. This is about as dangerous as it gets around here, " Mr.

Tyer added. " We don't even walk through here anymore because we

don't want to be underneath it when it comes down.

" When it starts to rain, we don't have anywhere to go to stay dry.

If we have things we need to put together, or trucks to repair, we

can't do it here, " Mr. Tyer said. " Our only real option to stay dry

is to get in our trucks. "

Although it is obvious that there has to be something done to the

building, Mr. Tyer doesn't feel like the last solution offered by

the Alto City Council is sufficient.

" At the last city council meeting, they decided that they should

give this building to an individual in exchange for a two-year lease

on a storage space that would be able to get us out of here now, "

Mr. Tyer said. " While it may offer a short term solution, what

happens at the end of that lease if we haven't found a location or

raised the money to build a new building? Not to mention that the

building itself is still salvageable. The walls and the foundation

of this building are still in good condition. All the city needs to

do is find someone to help us fix the roof. "

Alto City Secretary Hattie Hamilton feels that even though there is

a need for an immediate solution, the long-term solution needed

coincides with Mr. Tyer's thoughts.

" After the council meeting on Monday, I talked with and we

both agreed that the most cost-efficient way of handling the

situation would be to try and find someone to give us an estimate on

repairing the roof, " Mrs. Hamilton said.

" We've contacted a few different companies and have appointments

lined out with them. There is an immediate need, but we've got to do

what is best for the city in the future. "