Supervisors to ponder moldy annex’s fate
The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors are holding off on any decisions regarding the Highland Annex and may consider if moving the offices from there isn’t a better bet.
The building, which houses the Montgomery County Public Health offices, has been battling a leaking roof and most recently, a mold problem.
Supervisor Steve Ratcliff raised the issue during the regular Board of Supervisors meeting last week and suggested a closer examination.
“We’ve been kicking plans for the building around for a while, and I think we should take a quick look at it. It doesn’t need to be the whole board, but a couple of people to look at it,” Ratcliff said.
Based on the building’s current condition, Ratcliff said they have two options.
“We need to decide if we’re going to keep it and throw more money into it, or are we going to look into other options?” asked Ratcliff.
Supervisors Chair Bryant Amos said he favored a decision from the entire Board of Supervisors.
“We know we’ve set aside some money in the next budget year for infrastructure, and that’s what this is. So we need to determine how much it will cost to do both options. Maybe it’s $100,000 to repair it, and $250,000 to buy a new building and move the offices. We need to all get a vote in and see what everyone decides what to do with it,” said Amos.
Amos shared an encouraging update from Maintenance Supervisor Dan Wright regarding the removal of the mold from the ducts in the building.
“He was given a sample of a mold removal chemical which he used. He said it worked very well and asked for approval to purchase enough to remove all the mold. The cost of the product was relatively low. So I gave him approval for purchasing,” Amos said.
Amos added the cost of the chemical was drastically lower than the cost of electronic units to remove the mold, and Wright could apply the product himself. Montgomery County Public Health Director Sue Drake, who was at the meeting, was pleased with the results.
“We had some mold in one of our bathrooms and it took care of it within hours. It looked like it did well.” Drake said.
The product would need to be re-applied in a year, depending on the building’s roof leak situation.
“Dan pinpointed the leak areas that he has covered, but I think he’s pretty sure that a lot of the leaks are coming from the ductwork and the air conditioners.” said Amos.
It’s undetermined at this time when Wright will finish the mold removal process.
“He said he may be able to take care of it on a Saturday,” Drake said.
The supervisors also heard an update regarding the pre-construction meeting for the courthouse roof project. The first meeting on the $660,000 project with Renaissance Roofing is at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6.