Mold Plagues County Buildings

No action was taken on a lengthy report from Hyde County employees on air quality and serious concerns with several county buildings --the public safety center, the government center (new courthouse) and the EMS building.

All these buildings were completed not even five years ago. The government center and public safety center, both in Swan Quarter, opened officially in December 2007.  The EMS Station, centrally located next to Mattamuskeet School in Lake Comfort, began operation in 2008.

According to a presentation by County Manager Mazie Smith, the public safety center jail was shut down due to mold concerns shortly after it opened in 2008. The jail has since remained inoperable for housing prisoners and remains mostly shut off. 

Since 2008, there have been several mold remediation attempts throughout the entire public safety building.  As of August 24 of this year, there were no signs of visible mold.  Still, employees are consistently showing symptoms that point to mold exposure.  Sheriff David Mason said all dispatchers have reported itchy eyes, breathing issues and headaches.  Recently, one employee had a visibly serious allergic reaction and had to leave for the day.  Even the sheriff, who does routine moisture checks in the jail area, said he’d been prone to headaches after he made his rounds. 

Health director Wes Smith, who’s been called on each time an employee complains of such irritations, confirmed it’s a real issue.  “They’re not making this up,” said the health director.

“If people are getting sick, action needs to be taken,” said county manager Smith.

The health director recommended blocking off the jail area completely and investing in some industrial dehumidifiers.  Both manager Smith and health director Smith agreed the problem is a structural issue that needs a serious long-term fix.  Pictures were shown of doors and windows that are not sealed properly, including one shot of water pouring in through the doors at the center during a hard rain.

Mold may also be a concern in several offices of the Government Center.  Manager Smith showed pictures of walls in the second-floor administrative suite that were visibly damaged due to water leaking from the third-floor roof.  She said there’s been a contractor working on the wall and doing simple patches, but to no avail.

This is not a maintenance issue,” said Smith.  “This is poor construction.”  Pictures of the government center roof showed a real drainage problem, with water pooled that likely seeps down through the building - leaving puddles and wet walls in it’s wake.  Not only does this create a potential mold issue, it’s difficult to find a safe place to store government records, said Smith.

A further flaw of the building she pointed out was a pronounced crack in the first floor lobby.  The recent collapse of an elevated platform that housed the facility’s generator was yet another example of poor design that costs the county unnecessary maintenance dollars.

The newest building to the Hyde County cluster of government buildings, the EMS Station on Quarter Rd. next to Mattamuskeet School is also dealing with mold issues, with mold documented in the stove ventilation system and the electrical panel.

Maintenance director Clint Berry - who was not employed with Hyde maintenance when these buildings were built - said the $50,000 budgeted for this year’s county maintenance, along with a maintenance staff of two employees, would be no match for these problems.  He said they were serious structural issues that had cost the county unnecessary dollars.

The board heeded Wes Smith’s recommendation of an engineering study, as well as the air quality study.