Black mold outbreak closes city hall

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Black mold outbreak closes city hall

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Bogalusa,LA

http://www.edailynews.info/articles/2005/10/18/news/news11.txt

BY MARCELLE HANEMANN

The DAILY NEWS

Bogalusa Mayor Mack McGehee has left city hall. So has the city

council,

the marshall and the office of Veteran's Affairs. And Police Chief

Jerry

Agnew might be next.

At this point, the problem is not a lack of funding. It's mold.

The " old part " of city hall, which sustained wind and " a lot of

water

damage " due to Hurricane Katrina, has been declared unsafe.

" It's full of black mold, " said McGehee. " We had mold and air

quality

experts come in. And the insurance company told us we had to vacate. "

Black mold is a greenish-black fungus that grows well on wet

materials

such as dry wall, carpet, ceiling tiles and thermal insulation in

areas that

have been flooded.

The health threat depends on sensitivity, but it can reportedly be

life-threatening.

The mayor's office and the city council moved to 503 Georgia Avenue

Monday. The phone lines were in the process of being transferred, so

732-6200, should still connect to the mayor's office.

But McGehee advises anyone who has trouble reaching him to call

732-6213 or 732-6211, in the newer public works end of city hall

which

remains inhabitable, and ask for a contact number.

He said he is not sure how long his office will be displaced. And he

said he

believes that the clean-up work will be done, and offices moved

back, in

phases.

As of Monday, the courtroom had also been closed, and court was

temporarily set up in the conference room. And other areas, such as

the

police chief's office, were " taped off, " said McGehee.