Judge: fix courthouse SAFETY AN ISSUEComplaints prompt action

[Guest guest]

Judge: fix courthouse SAFETY AN ISSUE Complaints prompt action

Judge orders immediate City Council action on courtroom health

concerns

The Free Lance-Star - Fredericksburg,VA

BY REBECCA BLATT and EMILY BATTLE

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2007/062007/06202007/293791/index_

html?page=1

Circuit Court Judge W. Jr. ordered Fredericksburg City

Council yesterday to immediately fix what he says is an unsafe

courthouse.

's order directed the council to move the courthouse staff to a

new location until the building is repaired.

It requires the city to remove all hazardous conditions in the

courthouse, and specifically mentions mold.

Mayor Tom Tomzak said he was surprised by the order. He said he felt

the city had been taking the mold issue seriously. The trouble is,

he said, the city has not been able to determine what is causing the

problem.

" We are looking for something we can act on, " said Tomzak, a

physician. " The public should be aware that we have not found

anything specific that can be identified as a pathogen, and if we

do, we will fully disseminate that. "

The court order followed a presentation Circuit Court Clerk Sharron

made to City Council last week.

said court employees experience rashes, hives, eye

infections, sinus problems and nausea while working in the

courthouse.

'we can't function'

" We have employees in this court who get sick every week, and we

can't function that way, " said.

In addition, city officials said last week that air quality tests in

the courthouse showed that mold levels were higher in the jury room

than in the outside air, leading them to close the jury room.

But Fredericksburg Public Facilities Director Bob Antozzi said this

week that the mold levels found in the jury room remain in a safe

range and that the city closed the jury room as a precaution.

" It's more of a public- relations thing, " Antozzi explained. " We

just want the users of the jury room not to have any questions about

what's going on in there even though some people I've talked with

said this doesn't mean that you should shut the jury room down. "

Tests were preliminary

But Ray Petrisek, the microbiologist who did the air quality tests

of Herndon, said yesterday that the tests were preliminary and that

the analysis of them is not that simple.

" If I had a suggestion that the building had serious problems I

would have pulled the plug early on and suggested that they close

the building down, " he said, but later added, " I don't feel

comfortable walking away and saying that there's not a problem. "

Petrisek said that it is significant that the mold count was higher

inside the jury room than outside the courthouse. In addition,

Petrisek said that the test found two types of mold inside the jury

room but not in the outside air.

That, he said, was cause for concern.

" Those two criteria are indicative of there being a problem, " he

said, though he would not draw any conclusions about the type or

extent of the problem without seeing results of more extensive

studies including inside the jury room and throughout the rest of

the courthouse.

Petrisek, director of environmental microbiology for HP

Environmental Inc., of Herndon, said that he has not been asked to

conduct any follow-up tests. However, Antozzi said that Bartlett did

additional testing yesterday and plans to collect at least three

additional mold samples.

searching for space

's order leaves city leaders scrambling to find space.

City Manager Rodenberg said that the city will use emergency

procurement procedures--which allow it to bypass the bidding process-

-to hire a firm to fix the problem.

It is unclear right now how much that will cost.

The state awarded Fredericksburg up to $350,000 for renovations of

the courthouse, which the city has to match with its own money.

The city had planned to match $300,000 this year, providing $600,000

for courthouse repairs.

Rodenberg said the city might have to think about spending the extra

$50,000 to get the rest of the state grant.

checking on locations

Possible locations for a temporary clerk's office could include the

former firehouse next to the Circuit Court on Princess Anne Street,

which is owned by Tommy . Other options include the city-

owned Executive Plaza building and the police headquarters.

The police are expected to move to their new headquarters on Cowan

Boulevard on July 10.

Finding a temporary courthouse will be a taller order.

Rodenberg said he and would be calling court officials in

neighboring counties to see if city court proceedings could take

place in a county courtroom.

Sheriff Higgs, whose deputies secure the courts, said the city

will have to find a space where prisoners can be separated from jury

members, witnesses and the rest of the public, and secured.

" The city's going to have their work cut out for them, " he said.

council chambers eyed

asked Rodenberg in April to use the Council Chambers in City

Hall as a second courtroom for civil proceedings in order to bring

in an extra judge and alleviate a court docket that is so backed up

that civil cases are currently being scheduled for September of 2009.

The city had originally planned to make the chambers available by

the first of next year, but Rodenberg said yesterday that the

council could authorize court proceedings to begin there as soon as

next month.

Blatt: 540/374-5000

Email: rblatt@...