BRISTOL, Va. – Val DeVault sighed as he surveyed water stains and mold that scars the walls, ceiling tile and carpet inside offices where he once worked.
Tucked neatly beneath the bleachers of the city’s DeVault Stadium, the now-vacant offices were the long-time home to the city’s parks and recreation department. DeVault, the department’s interim director, is one of six city employees recently relocated to temporary quarters in City Hall.
“It’s a sad situation,” DeVault said Friday afternoon. “We’re looking at options of what we’ll do next, but I don’t see us coming back here. It just wouldn’t work.”
The city has long battled problems with water seepage and runoff beneath the 5,000-seat football stadium, but conditions have deteriorated in recent months, DeVault said.
“It has gotten worse and worse, and we couldn’t continue here. It was time to go,” he said.
A 2008 study by Blountville-based environmental firm S&ME revealed different types of mold – including potentially toxic black mold – in the basement offices, a conference room and a concession stand.
Black mold, or Stachybotrys Chartarum, can cause respiratory or allergic reactions in some people. In recent years, several area schools and public buildings have undergone expensive work to remediate problems related to black mold.
City officials are expected to meet this week to discuss a new report outlining options for what to do next, City Manager Bill Dennison said.
“Basically, we can repair and rehabilitate to make it ready for occupancy, but that is extremely expensive,” Dennison said. “One option we need to look at is to tear out all the interior [office] walls, open it up, get the mold off the walls and let air and light be part of preventing the problem in the future.”
Regardless of which option is selected, significant cleanup will be needed inside an adjacent concession stand and some walls need structural repairs because of settling, Dennison said.
There is no reason the stadium couldn’t continue being used for football games, he said.
“We might have to build a new concession building or bring in a trailer,” DeVault said. “We have to have the new concession.”
If city leaders opt to remove the offices, they would then have to find permanent office space for the parks and recreation staff, Dennison said.
“The City Hall situation is temporary. Parks and rec really needs to be at one of their facilities. They don’t need to be at a central office downtown,” Dennison said.
dmcgee@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2532
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement