Mold trumps space problems when it comes to county records

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Mold trumps space problems when it comes to county records

2006-05-09

by Lesli Bales-Sherrod

of The Daily Times Staff

ville, TN

http://www.thedailytimes.com/sited/story/html/257073

Mold that has overtaken Blount County's Records Management

Department could cost $125,000 to eliminate and prevent in the

future.

The mold problem must be resolved, however, before Records

Management can move forward with scanning documents to alleviate the

department's lack of space, a proposal that in itself could cost

$286,400.

The Records Management Department is located in the basement of the

99-year-old courthouse.

Financial Management Committee members heard both recommendations

Monday, but decided to pass on to the full County Commission only

the plan for mold remediation and moisture proofing at the

courthouse.

The proposal, presented by Risk Manager Don Stallions, shows a cost

estimate of $48,000 to ``decontaminate, sanitize and dry'' the

records and interior surfaces of Records Management; $36,000 to

excavate around the perimeter of the courthouse and waterproof the

foundation walls; $8,000 to caulk and seal up the perimeter of the

building and the steps on the front of the courthouse; and $8,000

for ``oversight of construction, remediation clearance testing,

administration and inspection.''

A $25,000 contingency was included for ``drain verification and

remediation'' if it is discovered that existing drains are not

sufficient for moisture proofing.

Stallions presented a $22,810 proposal to do the mold remediation

and moisture proofing in-house, but it did not include labor costs

or the costs of training county employees to do such work.

Stallions said after the meeting that the difference in cost would

not have been worth the liability, in his opinion.

No action was taken Monday on the recommendation from the Records

Commission and Information Technology Committee that the county buy

necessary equipment and hire two employees to help scan certain

documents, which then could be destroyed to free up some 2,600

square feet of space in Records Management.

Records Manager Jackie Glenn, who stopped accepting county documents

two years ago because she ran out of space, said being located in

the basement of the almost-century-old courthouse is ``not ideal''

for records, but that she could ``make due'' if the mold issue is

resolved.

``I want to stress the urgency involved in getting these records

cleaned up,'' she said. ``I am willing to do whatever it takes.''

In the meantime, Glenn continues to work out of the county's

Emergency Management Agency office, only going into the basement to

retrieve documents on an as-needed basis.