Children First will price mold cleanup options

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01/30/06

Children First will price mold cleanup options

Charlotte,FL

http://www.sun-herald.com/NewsArchive2/013006/tp5np1.htm?

date=013006 & story=tp5np1.htm

NORTH PORT -- Children First has received a detailed list of steps

it must take to remove the effects of mold in a portable classroom

used for Head Start in North Port.

Now the agency has to decide whether the unit is even worth cleaning

up.

Philip Tavill, executive director of Children First, said the agency

will seek estimates for the cost of the recommended cleanup.

The portable unit, behind Glenallen Elementary School, has been

plagued with mold problems for several months. The unit serves as a

temporary classroom for the local Head Start program.

Head Start is a federally sponsored program designed to help

children of underprivileged families prepare for preschool. Children

First is the agency that runs the Head Start program in North Port.

When mold was first discovered in the unit last fall, Children First

hired consultants to test it and recommend cleanup steps. After the

work was completed, children were brought back into the classroom.

However, within a few weeks, the mold reappeared.

In December, Children First removed the preschoolers from the

portable unit and found alternative Head Start programs for the

children.

Consultants returned for more testing. Their recommendations,

outlined in a Jan. 19 letter to Children First, include specific

areas that must be cleaned up or repaired. These include measures

such as stopping all known water leaks, cleaning or removing

affected insulation, paneling and linoleum, dehumidifying wood

flooring and sealing windows and exterior leaks.

" Our next step is to get three cost estimates on how much all this

remediation will cost us, " Tavill said. " If the price is too high,

it might not be worth it to even bother remediating the portable

unit. "

Tavill said a new building for Head Start in North Port is expected

to be completed and ready for use by the end of this year.

" Whether we would even bring the kids back into this unit is

questionable, " Tavill said. " But we also have to think about whether

we might use this unit for storage at some point, if it can be

cleaned up, or whether we want to sell it later on. "

What to do with the unit will depend on what cleanup of the seven-

year-old portable unit would cost.

Tavill added, " Right now we have no plans to bring the children back

into this portable classroom. They are doing pretty well in the

alternative sites. We haven't gotten any negative feedback from the

families. "

You can e-mail Hoffman at shoffman@....

By SUSAN E. HOFFMAN

North Port Assistant Editor