Workers address mold at Midwest City hotel

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Workers address mold at Midwest City hotel

NewsOK.com - Oklahoma City,OK*

By Ann Kelley

Staff Writer

http://newsok.com/workers-address-mold-at-midwest-city-

hotel/article/3255071/?tm=1213043621

MIDWEST CITY — Remediation of the mold problem at the city-owned

Sheraton Hotel is under way.

City Manager Guy Henson said workers began Friday removing vinyl

wallpaper and the mold trapped behind it. The hotel will remain open

through the remediation, but the floors being worked on will be

closed.

The city has budgeted up to $1.19 million for the project, officials

said.

TEC-AN Inc. of Oklahoma City was awarded the contract for removing

the mold. It will cost $298,370, with an allowance up to $16,800 to

cover any additional problems found, Henson said.

Reiss Painting of Oklahoma City was hired to repaint the walls at a

cost of $495,000. The company was given an allowance up to $25,200

for any unanticipated additional work, Henson said.

Henson said other costs associated with the remediation and

renovation will equal about $110,000, and an additional $245,000 has

been budgeted as a contingency.

City council members will be asked tonight to approve borrowing

$700,000 from the city's sanitation department to cover part of the

cost.

Henson said the loan will be paid back in six months with sales tax

revenue earmarked for capital improvement. The interest rate on the

loan is 2.1 percent.

In addition to the loan, Hunt said $300,000 will come from the

city's construction account, and $200,000 will come from the

Conference Center's account for fixtures, furniture and equipment.

Henson said they want the work done within the next six weeks before

a convention of event planners from across the state begins at the

Conference Center.

The $16 million hotel, 5800 Will Road, opened February 2006,

adjacent to the Conference Center.

Henson said it's believed the mold developed because of problems

with the hotel's air circulation system.

He said the hotel has been tested by environmental specialists who

say the mold is not airborne.