6pm 1/9/12: Back in Headquarters
5:30pm 10/29: Latest on Black Mold Problems
Mold Problems Forcing Police to Move
notice of violation of police department
UPDATE 1/9/12 @ 10:20 p.m.
PORTSMOUTH, Ohio (WSAZ) -- After more than a year, the Portsmouth Police Department is back home again Monday.
Officers were able to move back into their headquarters, which is located in the basement of City Hall. They have been working out of the Portsmouth Fire Department since September 2010 because of a black mold infestation.
The department has made some changes like adding a patrol area, where officers can finish up their paperwork and participate in briefings.
Officers say this isn't just a big deal for them, it also helps the community they serve.
"It is certainly huge for the public," Portsmouth Police Capt. Robert Ware said. "The public knows you can come to one location, get an officer, get the report we need. In the past, we were spread out and now they know where the police are and they can get to them."
All of the renovations are expected to be completed in about a month.
It's all because of mold contamination in City Hall.
With a health hazard order to vacate the City Hall office by next Thursday, Chief Charles Horner says he will temporarily run essential operations out of the Central Fire Station.
The Chief and Mayor Jane Murray want to move the department permanently to an available property on Clare Street.
City Council President David Malone says they will hash out the police move proposal and how to pay for it at next Monday’s council meeting
Records clerk Jane Howard, as well as everyone in the basement police department headquarters at the old Portsmouth City Hall, says the black mold running through the vents and soaking through the walls makes them sicker by the day.
Nearly two months after a building code health hazard violation order to vacate the police dept and fix the mold problems, frustrated Police Chief Charles Horner says nothing's happened. He says there seems to be no sense of urgency.
Mayor Jane Murray, however, says there is urgency on her part. Busy with trying to keep her job and fighting off a second city recall attempt, she has had repair crews working on the outside of City Hall. That's as the mold problem in the inside of City Hall continues to fester.
The mayor’s chief assistant says she was denied workers comp for her skin and respiratory reactions to the mold.
Back in the summer, after the vacate and fix order, Murray said the plan was to move the police department out temporarily, rip out the walls and clean up the mold with bleach and water.
Now, Murray says City Council simply will not act.
The city health commissioner says she can't do more than recommend to city council to correct the mold problem. That's because there's no regulation to force mold abatement.
There is agreement on moving the police department to a vacated gas company building across town. Horner says, though, that the purchase and renovation cost would be more than $100,000, and that can’t be passed by council without a public vote. Murray says that rule only pertain to property tax funds.
While the mayor and much of City Council can not agree on much of anything, many mold sick City Hall workers are considering suing the city for their health care costs. Horner says he may take legal action against his own city -- just to escape the mold.
To add to the challenges in Portsmouth, Murray filed a protest Friday afternoon with the Board of Elections over the second batch of recall petitions.
She won her first protest. Recall hearing number two is set for Monday.
Their current office has been taken over by black mold and they are currently looking for a new, safe place to move.
Portsmouth Mayor Jane Murray tells WSAZ.com that they have their eyes on a former gas company building on Clare Street in Portsmouth. Murray says a council member brought this property to the city's attention.
Murray says this "would make excellent facilities for the police department" and they "need to go to clean, healthy quarters."
The price tag for this property is $480,000. Murray says she will be crunching numbers and hopes to know by the end of the week if they will be able to foot this bill. She says right now they don't know if they are going to be able to do it or not, but they are really trying.
Murray says this property will provide all of the facilities necessary for the department to function including training, storage and impounding of vehicles. She also says this will allow the department to go back to being open 24/7 instead of closing at 4 like they are now.
Another property they are looking at is the Juvenile Detention Center which is priced at $1.75 million.
Mayor Murray hopes to know by the end of the week if this purchase will be possible. The next step, once approving the purchase would be to hold a special council meeting so the public and council would have a chance to look at the property.
The entire police department has been ordered to be out of the building in less than two week's time. The problem with moving the police department is there's nowhere to go.
Its employees were going to temporarily relocate to the Central Fire Station, but the frustrated, angry and mold sick police chief says that won't work.
The city calls the mold in the police department a serious hazard. Mayor Jane Murray, under fire and facing a recall, calmly says, "We'll clean in up and find a place for the police."
Then there's a big picture story here -- the decades long battle to vacate an old crumbling city hall.
Police Chief Charles Horner says the air filters go from white to black frequently, and he pointed out the numerous spots of water and sewage damage causing mold build up. It's mold that Horner says has sickened his staff for quite a while.
"In the past eight months to a year, we've had an explosion of mold,” employee Jane Howard said. "I cough quite a bit, my eyes water, my throat gets raspy."
Horner says, "You can see the mold here in my captain’s office, in this bathroom, on these cabinets."
Murray's plan was to move the police department to the Central Fire Station. Horner now says that's logistically impossible. He says they have no room.
FEMA trailers won't work, and the best option is the vacated Scioto County juvenile justice center.
Murray knows the entire City Hall has a mold problem, pointing out her top assistant's skin reaction. The mayor knows the worst of it is in the basement police department, and the plan is to rip out the walls and clean up the mold.
"All we need is some bleach and water," Murray says.
Then, the thing to do is fix the problems that caused the mold to begin with. To that end, this preservationist mayor has replaced the City Hall roof -- plans to repair the crumbling bricks and mortar -- but now the mold takes priority.
Horner says if and when his department gets out of City Hall, he does not want to return -- period.
WSAZ.com's Randy Yohe asked Murray about a police move to the county's vacated juvenile justice center. She said that's an expensive old idea that needs new study.
Meanwhile, with the clock ticking, there's no moving plan in place. The deadline to get the entire police department out of city hall is Sept. 12 -- less than two weeks away.
That word from Mayor Jane Murray who says the Chief of Police brought the issue to her attention several weeks ago.
“The City Services Director, Mr. Beaumont has been working on the problem since the Chief’s initial complaint. I was aware that mold existed all over the city building. The property has not been maintained for years. We replaced the roof two months ago and will begin in two weeks the mortar repair on the west and south exterior walls,” said Murray.
Mayor Murray says the department needs to be vacated by September 12 according to the order from the city Engineering Department.
“I have instructed Mr. Beaumont to get quotes and timing for the mold removal and cleanup so that we can begin as soon as possible,” stated Mayor Murray.
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