Inspection will determine amount of asbestos inside

An answer on the asbestos should be coming by the end of January.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Workers will begin an inspection of walls and ceilings in the Park-Porter Building downtown next week to determine the amount of asbestos there.
Trumbull County commissioners tentatively agreed in November to buy the 1922-era building to house the county's Department of Job and Family Services and One-Stop job training facility. Commissioners said the building must pass an asbestos test before they will proceed with the sale.
David Zofko, the county's newly hired chief building official, said workers will take samples from each floor of the building and send them to be evaluated.
Results of those samples should be available three to four days later. If asbestos is not found there, workers will return to examine other parts of the building for asbestos, including pipe insulation or floor insulation, he said.
"Primarily, if there is asbestos in the ceilings and walls, that's where the major problem comes in," Zofko said. The other types of asbestos are "not a major expense," he said.
If problems are found in the walls and ceilings, there would be no reason to continue with the rest of the inspection, he said.
Zofko estimated that the entire inspection should be complete by month's end.
Building owner
The building, at 280 N. Park Ave., is owned by a group represented by Kurt W. Sauer. It houses the Veterans Services office, an insurance company and several legal offices, which will have to move if the JFS moves in.
County commissioners agreed to pay $699,500 for the building. County Commissioner Paul Heltzel said the building will require a new roof, two new roof air-conditioning units, handicap-accessible doors and handicap-accessible bathrooms, among other things.
The county rents buildings on South Park Avenue and West Market Street for the JFS offices.