Closed courthouse adjoins facility housing inmates

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Elbert sheriff worried about mold at jail, too

Closed courthouse adjoins facility housing inmates

Print By Ivan Moreno, Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_43

88076,00.html

Denver,CO

January 14, 2006

KIOWA - The Elbert County sheriff is worried about the safety of his

jail inmates who haven't been moved even though mold-related health

concerns again forced the closure of the adjoining courthouse.

In a letter to county's commissioners Thursday, Sheriff

Frangis said he's received conflicting inspection reports about the

Justice Center, which includes both the jail and courthouse.

The building has had water leaks since November 2004 and contractors

hired by the county did inspections, Frangis wrote.

" I have been verbally assured by the Board of County Commissioners

on a continual basis that the facility is safe and free of any

contamination/mold, " he said in the letter.

But he also pointed out a Dec. 8 inspection report by the U.S

Department of Health and Human Services " questioned the testing

performed by agents of the county. "

" I now have two versions of whether the facility is safe for

occupancy or not, keeping in mind that the court side of the

facility is only operational eight hours a day, while I have

employees and inmates occupying the jail 24 hours a day, " Frangis

wrote.

The stubborn growth of mold caused the closure of the courthouse

Thursday for the second time in as many years.

The mold was discovered in two areas of the courthouse. Mitigation

on those areas has already begun, and a full assessment of the

entire structure is underway.

" The goal is to get it fixed as soon as possible, " said Mark

Scheffel, an Elbert County attorney.

Mold is a fungus usually caused by dampness and can trigger

allergies.

" We've had some employees with adverse effects, " said Laurie

McKager, district administrator for the Eighteenth Judicial

District.

Four employees were moved to the County Combined Court,

where all Elbert County judicial matters will be handled until at

least Jan. 27, McKager said. She didn't say whether those employees

were the ones who got ill because of the mold.

Meantime, the jail adjoining the courthouse is still housing

prisoners, and there are no immediate plans to transfer them

somewhere else, Scheffel said.

" It's business as usual on the sheriff's side, " he said.

Scheffel said no mold has been detected at the jail, but testing is

being conducted by A.G. Wassenaar and Excel Environmental.

" The jail is not closed and the desire is to keep it open, " said

Carol Haller, state judicial legal counsel. " Hopefully in Elbert

County they don't need a lot of cells. It's a little county. "

Frangis said the jail, which was built in 1987, has a maximum

capacity of 40 but was designed to hold 23.

The Judicial Center first had to be closed because of mold

contamination on Sept. 23, 2004. It was reopened Feb. 7, 2005.

The areas where the mold was found this time are different from

where the mold was first discovered in 2004, McKager said.