Thursday, December 21, 2006
BOARDMAN — The township will pay a McDonald company about $9,000 to clean mold from the main fire station.
A report earlier this month by Boardman Home Inspection detected two types of mold in the U.S. Route 224 station. The highest levels were found in the basement, which has had leaks.
The township paid the company about $560 to do the inspection.
Jason Loree, township administrator, said the levels didn’t indicate hazardous amounts, but the township plans to address it.
At a previous meeting, trustees authorized Loree to hire a company to do the work of removing contaminated items and cleaning surfaces, for up to $13,000.
A study conducted by a second company, Sylcom Inc. of Columbus, found similar mold levels. The township paid Sylcom about $940 to do the tests.
Loree has a tentative agreement for $9,050 with Enviroclean Mold Remediation of McDonald to do the work. The contract is being reviewed by the Mahoning County prosecutor’s office, the administrator said.
Jim Hoover, president of International Association of Firefighters Local 1176, said the union filed a complaint with the Mahoning County District Board of Health because of suspected mold.
Firefighters were complaining of allergy symptoms such as scratchy throats, itchy eyes and sneezing.
“They were bad when they were at work and then not a problem when they were at home,” Hoover said.
The health department instructed the township about getting the building tested and addressing mold issues, Loree said.
Trustees have talked for more than a year about the need to either rebuild or renovate the main station, built in 1926.
A Youngstown company last year issued a report that estimated the cost to rebuild the station in the same location at $4.1 million.
The subject crept up again earlier this month when Loree asked trustees to authorize him to advertise for an architectural and engineering firm to create a design for renovating or rebuilding the station.
The board opted to hold off on the request pending a report on the township’s overall attractiveness.
Students from Kent State University and Cleveland State University are expected to provide recommendations to improve the township’s appearance to visitors and prospective residents and business people.
The study’s findings will be useful to companies interested in architecture and engineering of the fire station.