Mold may close city hall

NANTICOKE – Mayor John Bushko called for the Municipal Building to be closed immediately during Wednesday night’s council meeting after mold was found in the structure.

“We are jeopardizing the safety of all our employees,” he said. “Everybody is at risk coming in this building.”

A home test kit detected the presence of “toxic” mold last fall in the squad room of the Nanticoke Police Department, which is housed in the basement of the municipal building.

Those test results and a memo from Nanticoke City Police Officers Association Union Representative and police Capt. Kevin Grevera dated Nov. 15, 2007, were sent to Bushko, City Administrator Kenneth Johnson, Councilman Joe Dougherty and Police Chief James Chesinski. In the memo, Grevera requested that a professional company be hired to test the toxicity levels of mold in the building.

“Perhaps the quantities of mold in the air and air ducts are not potentially hazardous, or perhaps they are. We need to have further analysis as soon as possible to factually determine any potential health risks,” the memo stated.

Johnson said the mold problem resulting from an accumulation of dust in the vents was discovered about two years ago, but city administrators never resolved it.

Johnson said he scheduled a contractor to clean the building’s ventilation system in the middle of January, but the company never showed up.

There was no written agreement made with the company, whose name was not readily available. The cleaning would have cost the city slightly under $5,000, Johnson said.

Grevera stressed that while the vents do need to be cleaned, a professional company must also be hired to test the toxicity level of the mold, which can be carried through the duct system.

If the mold and ventilation systems are not adequately cleaned by Monday, Bushko said he wants city hall closed.

“Let’s just make arrangements to move everybody over to the fire house or somewhere because I think the building has to be closed,” Bushko said.

Some police department employees notice a difference in their breathing when they report to work and some are being treated for chronic sinus issues, Grevera said.