Mold scrubbed from Town Hall

It’s safe to go into Town Hall. The mold that had crept out of the vault of the former bank building and into the reception area was removed last Wednesday. Air and surface sample readings taken after the cleanup were normal, below ambient air tested outside the building, said Brian Lease, director of public works.

The spreading mold closed Town Hall April 16-18. SERVPRO, an emergency restoration services company in Burlington providing mold remediation, did the cleanup.

Scott Thomas, Town Administrator, said “they came in on Tuesday morning set up and isolated the reception area and office area adjoining the vault; they erected plastic sheeting on temporary panels and closed off the front door with plastic as well.”

By Wednesday afternoon the remediation was complete. SERVPRO staff were done before 11 a.m. Thursday.

Lease, who managed the pro-ject, said the town took precautions for the possible health hazard “for people whose immune systems are low and have respiratory problems.”

Mayor Ramon Hayes noted, “Mold is not something that can wait. We needed to solve the issue immediately. We took care of what needed to be taken care of for all the employees going into town hall and citizens.”

Thomas and Finance Director Maria DeGoede, with upper floor offices, continued working, but office assistant Danielle Freiberger and Andrea Moore, deputy clerk, stayed home.

Thomas and DeGoede “had to come up the back staircase. That was a unique experience for me I had never been up it before,” Thomas said.

Thomas did not exactly come in through the bathroom window, but leaks allowing water in the vault were the source of water providing conditions for the mold to grow.

Cleanup costs were some $10,500.