Courthouse challenges: Dangerous materials, fungi haunt old building

Courthouse challenges: Dangerous materials, fungi haunt old building Connections between the historic Stutsman County Courthouse and the new Stutsman County Courthouse may become an environmental hazard to county employees, building inspections in December and January have revealed. Even without the hole, the wall wouldn't have been enough to prevent potential air quality problems, though, because it was not built well enough, said Casey Bradley, Stutsman County chief operating officer/auditor. The State Historical Society still hopes to restore and lease the structure at some point, provided it can get the money. "Whatever furniture is considered (for museum) collections will have to be identified and removed by museum staff," says the Historical Society's list of tasks to be performed. More environmental testing will be likely be done on the old building this summer, Linn said, focusing on the air quality, lead-based paint and asbestos. "We love this building. The wall between the two buildings in the basement is also not up to the task, Bradley said, but the one on the second floor is fine. A third point of connection between the two buildings is an old crawlspace, which is locked, but not sealed off. The old courthouse connects with the new courthouse in four ways, which will eventually pose air quality problems for the people in the new courthouse. Foremost is the wall built on the main floor between the two buildings. ". "I think that learning more about the environmental conditions is one of the higher priorities, that's what we need to know," said Tom Linn, architectural project manager with the SHSND, during a recent tour of the building. When more info about air quality and the amount of lead and asbestos is available, the Historical Society will be able to get cost quotations for fixing the problems. Some of the detected mold species are also allergenic. Finally, there are some small conduits still connecting the two buildings. "The big issue in my point of view, it's going to cost so much money to do anything at all with (the old courthouse), where's the funding going to come from?" said Jim Fettig, courthouse maintenance engineer. The main floor of the courthouse is in better shape than the basement, but some old wooden furniture still in the building may present a fire hazard. In January, Stutsman County officials requested a meeting with the State Historical Society of North Dakota to discuss the problems with the building. "Our intent is to replace that framed wall with a concrete masonry wall this summer," Linn said. Four of the seven mold species detected with two surface swab samplings on Dec. Courthouse challenges: Dangerous materials, fungi haunt old building Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 05/06/2012