Wyandotte Official Responds to City Hall Mold Issue

On Friday, Wyandotte City Administrator responded to a that employees were not notified of a report documenting hazardous mold in their workplace.

The investigation and report was done by Kalamazoo-based company Environmental and Occupational Consulting and Training. Done last summer in response to a city hall employee OSHA complaint, the report included problems found with mold, as well as 17 recommendations for the city to take care of the issue.

Drysdale said the city regrets not making a stronger effort to notify everyone of the EOCT report contents.

“The city is going to have to evaluate how we communicate this information to city employees,” Drysdale said.

However, overall the story has been somewhat “embellished,” he said.

According to the WXYZ report, employees reported symptoms of fatigue, scratchy throats and sinus problems.

The mold found, which did not include black mold, does not pose a health risk to humans, Drysdale said. 

As for the EOCT recommendations, Drysdale said it’s true that some of the costliest actions were not done, but state OSHA officials were completely satisfied with the steps that were taken.

A letter dated July 16, 2010 from Michigan OSHA Industrial Hygienist Lynn Totsky was sent to Assistant City Engineer Greg Mayhew. In the letter, Totsky said: “Based on your response, we feel adequately assured that employee safety and health is not now in jeopardy from the alleged conditions.”

Some of the steps taken included: closing off the basement, removing tile, tearing out carpet and relocating any affected workspaces. Mayor Joseph Peterson addressed this as well in a letter to city officials last week.

Also, as the OSHA complaint was ongoing, Drysdale said all documentation relating to it was clearly posted in the building, per legal obligations to do so.

Drysdale said the city hall basement became susceptible to water leakage on the south side after the 2010 demolition of the former Fogel Furniture building, a property owned by the city. The resulting water is what eventually prompted the OSHA complaint by someone, he said.

One step currently being taken to avoid standing water is immediate cleanup action by the Department of Public Services following any rain. Drysdale also said another air test will be done this month to test for mold again and there is money in the budget to waterproof the basement. 

As for the relocation of city hall across the street to another city-owned building, Drysdale said the 2010 EOCT report did help speed up the process.

The recent media attention, however, has not accelerated those plans, he said, and there is not enough reason to move the building's current tenants, such as , and lose the potential business they bring to the city.

“It doesn’t make sense to take action against the tenants in that building," Drysdale said. "We want those customers coming in to downtown."