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Mooresville Takes Steps to Protect Employees

By Sarah Rutherford

New Air-Handling System to be Installed in Renovated Town Hall

After witnessing the endless problems with the air-handling system in the Morgan County Courthouse and the sickness it caused to employees, the town of Mooresville has taken a proactive step in protecting its employees.

The town council recently accepted a bid from EcoQuest International to install an air purification system in the new town hall for $8,000. The system will include six fresh air, or stand alone, units and six furnace units.

“They’re taking a lead and they’re really a leader in this,” Jerry Staum, Senior Dealer for EcoQuest said of the town’s move.

While the furnace units attack mold, mildew and allergens, the stand-alone units knock airborne particles out of the air.

In an effort to take care of all town employees, town councilman Eric Shields suggested that EcoQuest evaluate the needs of other town buildings including the police department, fire department, water department, and parks department. Staum presented the council with recommendations for each building at the June 7 town council meeting however no decision has been made.

“If we consider where some work, we need to consider where all the employees are,” town councilman Eric Shields said.

“It’s a matter of making sure everyone is looked after

Staum approached the board in April after a discussion with the clerk-treasurer’s office. According to Staum, during a visit to the town hall, employees in the clerk-treasurer’s office complained of allergies. He decided to pursue the matter and approached the town council in April about installing the purification systems in the new town hall.

The units will be installed in the new town hall, formerly a Methodist church, that sits on Harrison and Indiana Streets closer to the completion date.

“It’s important with that particular building because of age of the building,” Shields said.

The town isn’t alone in its desire to protect employees. The Brooklyn Town Council purchased a unit from the company this spring.

“We tried it and felt like we could feel a difference, and it was not a major expense,” Becky McGlauchlen, Brooklyn Clerk-Treasurer said.

Brooklyn’s main concern was the brick dust from the walls and particles that entered the office while the doors are open.

While Staum can’t attest to the cost-saving benefits of the system, he does believe that this will prevent Mooresville from having problems similar to those of Martinsville and the health of town employees will benefit.

“The Martinsville situation cost almost a million dollars (to repair). Mooresville is trying to be preventative so they won’t get into that shape,” Staum said. “We can prevent that from happening here.”

Problems with the Morgan County Courthouse began in late July of last year when staff workers in Circuit Court noticed an odor. The odor spread to Superior Court III. A number of employees in both courts became ill and both judges moved their courts to a new location.

The odor began spreading and more employees complained of flu-like illnesses and breathing problems.

County officials decided last summer to move all employees from the courthouse to the Morgan County Administration Building on South Main Street and close the building

State agencies and private environmental companies have scoured and tested the building from top to bottom searching for the cause, with inconclusive results.

Finally, the commissioners decided to give the building a through cleaning and update the building’s air-handling systems to get more fresh air in the building, which was heavily renovated in 1996.

The work on the air handling system is being done by Dial One and comes with a price tag of $598,750 for the repair, replacement, and renovation of the existing air handling system now being used in the building. The specifications for the job also required a contingency fee of $25,000 to be added to the base bid for a total cost of $623,750.

This article has been syndicated from: http://www.md-times.com/
Author: Sarah Rutherford

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