After months of accusations and a pending lawsuit by county
Child Support Services employees regarding toxic mold at their
former office, owners of the building began the cleanup
Wednesday.
After months of accusations and a pending lawsuit by county Child Support Services employees regarding toxic mold at their former office, owners of the building began the cleanup Wednesday.
A lawyer representing the building owners – Lawrence Family LLC – said the work will take three days to complete.
“They have hired contractors to repair, cleanup and remediate regarding water intrusion issues,” said Linda Kansteiner, the attorney for Lawrence Family LLC.
She declined to comment on whether there is a mold presence in the building at 220 San Felipe Road.
“I will not confirm or deny that,” she said.
American Technologies Inc., is performing the work and specializes in mold testing and removal, among other forms of abatement. Officials from ATI would not comment on its involvement.
In December, Child Support Services employees filed a lawsuit against the Lawrence Family alleging toxic mold at the site caused several health ailments during the past two years, including three cases of asthma. Twenty-four of the 25 employees joined the suit.
Hollister’s senior building official Ray Proffitt visited the site Wednesday to inspect whether the level of cleanup required a permit. He said the work was minor and did not necessitate city approval.
Proffitt said ATI was repairing “primarily water damage.” However, there was a visible mold presence on drywall paper, he said.
From his brief inspection, he could not confirm the mold’s level of toxicity. Lab analysis is necessary for that determination, he said.
A recent test performed by Air Quality Sciences revealed toxic mold and pronounced a necessity to immediately vacate the building, according to Charles Kelley, an attorney representing the plaintiffs.
On Feb. 28, all 25 employees moved from the site to a new location at 2320 Technology Parkway. And although the county’s lease at 220 San Felipe Road will expire in June, the Lawrence Family decided to absolve the agreement and spare the county of paying rent.
Kelley said his clients have only one reaction to the cleanup that began Wednesday. They’re just happy to have moved into a different building, he said.
Kansteiner denies that studies showed a toxic mold presence and said the plaintiff’s lawyer never disclosed any evidence of such an inspection.
“That’s not true,” she said. “That’s 100 percent not true. The plaintiffs never gave any information that said the building needs to be evacuated.”
Kelley responded to those comments: “That’s called postering. They don’t want to go on the record.”
Kansteiner said one conference room was “off limits” for cleanup while county employees had still worked at the site because, “There was a presence of an area that had to be cleaned out,” she said.
Now, the owners are “getting a clean bill of health,” and the site will go back on the rental market immediately when ATI completes its cleanup, Kansteiner added.
“It’s a very nice property. It’s a nice location, with nice parking,” she said.
The city does not monitor cleanup of potential mold infestation, according to Code Enforcement Officer Tim Burns. In fact, there are currently no state standards for inspection of toxic mold. Building inspectors categorize mold problems with broader health-related concerns such as “use of property” and “quality of life.”
However, that does not mean the public is not cognizant of mold-related health problems, Burns said.
He receives about three calls each week from residents concerned about mold.
“Mold is kind of a hot topic for the 2000s,” he said, “as was asbestos in the ’80s and lead paint in the ’70s.”
