Dundee school will remediate auditorium mold growth

Oct 02, 2018 at 08:24 pm by Observer-Review


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Dundee school will remediate auditorium mold growth

DUNDEE--The Dundee school board approved a resolution Thursday, Sept. 27 to spend up to $170,000 to remediate mold that has been found in the school's auditorium.
The school's architectural firm, King + King, discovered the auditorium mold on the existing plaster and around the air grills.
Superintendent Kelly Houck said, "It was discovered in late August on the ceiling of the auditorium, specifically around the ceiling vents. Due to the heavy rain that we experienced within a seventy-two hour period of time that resulted in some very serious local flooding which brought extreme humidity and a system failure (the perfect storm) mold/mildew presented on the auditorium ceiling around the vents only."
Houck added, "We immediately contracted with our BOCES lab and had a sample taken to be tested. We were very fortunate and pleased to report that it was not toxic mold, it was confirmed to be common household mold/mildew. We wanted to have a second round of testing completed and also have this round include air quality testing. The second round confirmed the findings of the first round of testing, nothing toxic and the air quality in and around the auditorium had not been compromised. It is important to note that the air handling system that is designated to the auditorium is designated to just this space--it does not service any other areas or spaces."
Houck said, "The second round of lab testing also contains very clear cleaning and restoration protocols which we have reviewed with Servpro and the board approved a contract for services at the meeting last week. Due to all of the following that had transpired in Athens and other schools around Vestal, Servpro is contracted until the week of Oct. 15 when they will then start the work at DCS. The work will take 12 days to complete and will include post testing as well to ensure clean and clear space."
The superintendent said the system fault has also been rectified and a dehumidification process has been added to the school's heating, venting and air conditioning system.
The funding source for the project will be from the existing repair / reserve fund and or the unassigned general balance.
In other business:
The board also authorized using the resource of several individuals who are currently employed by the district and are also employed by the Yates County Sheriff's Office as Peace/Marine Patrol Officers for additional safety at the school. This resolution will allow these specific individuals the ability to bring a weapon on campus as a teacher, however, they will not open carry during the day and they will not use the weapon or take on any actions as a Peace Officer unless there is an emergency situation or threat made to the district. At that time they would become an employee of the sheriff's office following the protocols and actions they have been trained to follow in such a situation.
Houck said using this resource allows the district greater and a more timely response to a threat. The school still has a few more procedural steps to complete before implementing this safety measure.
The next scheduled board of education meeting is Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 6 p.m. in the school's public meeting room.

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