Mold problem drives City Council up wall

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Mold problem drives City Council up wall

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press on Thursday, March

23, 2006.

By ALLISON GATLIN

Valley Press Staff Writer

http://www.avpress.com/n/23/0323_s6.hts

CALIFORNIA CITY - Burning the building to the ground may end up as

the most cost-effective and efficient means of dealing with

extensive water and mold damage at California City's Sports Center.

California City's aging parks facilities have been hard-hit in

recent months, with both the Sports Center and Community Center

closed due to health and safety concerns.

While the Community Center should be reopened to the public next

week, the problems that closed the Sports Center are far more

extensive, Schafer , human resources director and risk

manager, reported to the City Council on Tuesday night.

The center, in Central Park, sustained severe water damage during

storms last summer, particularly a " microburst " in August. The

center was closed shortly after that and sealed.

That led to extensive development of mold within the facility,

Schafer said.

" It's the kind of mold, if you breathe a heavy amount of it, it can

cause problems, even death, " she said.

The city filed an insurance claim for damage caused during the

August storm, but the insurance inspector cannot enter the attic to

check the roof for structural damage until the mold is removed.

The city is not licensed for mold removal and would have to hire an

outside contractor to do the job, Schafer said. No specific cost for

this was available at Tuesday's meeting, and she had been unable to

find such a service in Kern County.

She also cautioned that any insurance claim funds collected would be

strictly for storm damage, not mold, because the city's insurance

does not cover mold.

The council instructed Schafer to seek cost estimates of cleaning

the mold enough to allow the insurance inspector inside, with a

decision on the future fate of the building to be decided later.

In addition to this, estimated to be the least expensive option,

Schafer outlined two other possibilities for addressing the Sports

Center.

One would be to burn the building completely, with the heat safely

destroying the mold. The cost for this option would be for staff

time and debris removal. However, Public Works Director Dan

cautioned that debris removal of that size would also be costly.

The third option is to refurbish the building with complete mold

removal done by a licensed mold-removal contractor. Although she did

not have specific figures, Schafer estimated this option would total

several hundred thousand dollars.

Concerns about asbestos at the Community Center were addressed by

sealing the ceiling with special paint and covering some portions

with sheet rock, Schafer said. In addition, employees received

exposure training.

The problems were mainly in the office areas, not the main room used

for public functions, she said.

The remedies meet environmental safety standards, but only for a

short time. The city will need to look into removal of the asbestos

material within the next two years, Schafer said.

In other business, the City Council agreed to proceed with a cost

estimate for installing a perimeter taxiway on the west end of the

airport, providing runway access for businesses there.

The council concurred with the recommendation of the Airport

Advisory Committee to use a perimeter runway for access rather than

shorter, more direct taxiways that would cut across an established

glider runway.

The decision addressed a long-standing request from a business owner

at the west end of the airport and will mirror the taxiway design at

the opposite end of the airport.

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