There's mold, too: Health Department laments leaky roof

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There’s mold, too: Health department laments leaky roof By Post of The

Montana Standard -

07/02/2007http://www.montanastandard.com/articles/2007/07/02/butte/hjjcjcjhjhfbj\

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You don’t always have to leave the Butte-Silver Bow Health Department to

know when it’s raining.

All some employees have to do is look up.

The department, at 25 W. Front St., has been patching its leaking roof for five

years and health officials say temporary repairs are no longer an option.

“We’re getting to the point where there are more patches than roof,” said health

department director Dan . “The roof is in dire need of replacement.” The

leaking roof also has caused mold and other water damage in a department charged

with promoting environmental health.

“We have a health department building and it’s a sick building,” said Charlie

O’Leary, chairman of the council of commissioners. “Our health department

deserves to have a healthy building.” It will cost about $175,000 to replace the

roof. Fixing the problem now will prevent additional mold and other damages in

the future, said.

While mold has been found in pockets in the roof’s crawl space, the extent of

the damage won’t be known until an inspection is completed, said. ');

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Some of the department’s 50 employees have complained of allergies, but

said it’s unknown whether mold is responsible. He believes the building’s mold

damage is “very minor.” said the health department pays $75,000 every

year to Butte-Silver Bow’s facilities fund, but that amount is often used to

maintain all county buildings, he said.

is asking commissioners for the next several years to earmark the health

department’s annual payment for improvements at his building. He’s also waiting

to see whether additional money needed to repair the roof is included in the

proposed budget for next year.

Aside from water damage, said a majority of the carpeting needs

replaced. Some sections are held together with duct tape. That combined with

buckets to catch water leaking from the roof are the bane of a professional

atmosphere, he said.

“If we are going to provide the perception that we are a clinic, we need to make

sure people come in here and know it is a well maintained building,”

said.

He said the building, built in the mid-1970s, can be saved if improvements are

made.

O’Leary said he supports ’s request.

“Let’s get a roof on it, then we can start accessing all the other problems,” he

said.

— Reporter Post may be reached via e-mail at justin.post@... or by

telephone, 496-5572.

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