Hotel mold could cost Midwest City $800,000

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Thu May 29, 2008

Hotel mold could cost Midwest City $800,000

NewsOK.com - Oklahoma City,OK*

By Ann Kelley

Staff Writer

http://newsok.com/hotel-mold-could-cost-midwest-city-800000brspan-

classhl2officials-consider-filing-lawsuitspan/article/3249688/

MIDWEST CITY — The city- owned Sheraton Hotel will undergo

renovations to eliminate a mold problem, City Manager Guy Henson

said.

Council members were scheduled to consider bids Tuesday for the

renovation, but city officials delayed opening the offers in hopes

of getting more bidders.

Henson said it could cost as much as $800,000 to eliminate the mold

problem, which has crept up behind the hotel's vinyl wallpaper. All

of the wallpaper will be removed and the hotel's air circulation

system repaired, Henson said.

American International Group Inc., the hotel's insurance carrier,

has declined to pay the claim, but there is money in a hotel

construction account to cover the cost, Henson said. He said a

lawsuit against the insurance company is being considered.

The $16 million hotel at 5800 Will Road opened in Feb. 2006

to complement the city's Conference Center. The 152-room hotel

is managed by the De Palma Hotel Corp. of Arlington, Texas.

Henson said the hotel has been tested by environmental specialists

who say the mold is not dangerous unless airborne. For now, it's

trapped behind the wallpaper, he said.

It became apparent last year when pink splotches were appearing on

the wallpaper, Henson said.

The problem was caused by the air circulation system not working

properly and bringing in moisture from outside the hotel, he said.

The plan is to shut down two floors at a time while the wallpaper is

removed and the walls are painted, Henson said.