Mold moves in

• Griggs County Courthouse

Griggs County Commissioner Lyle Pfeifer walks around the exterior of the historic Courthouse in Cooperstown, ND recently. Herald photo by Eric Hylden.
• Cooperstown, N.D.

Cooperstown, N.D.

Talk about it

More...

• Mold forces county offices to move

COOPERSTOWN, N.D. — Four Griggs County Social Services workers filed North Dakota Workers Safety and Insurance claims earlier this year after being treated for chronic allergies, colds, flu or other conditions.

One quit in June because of health reasons.

An environmental consulting firm in May confirmed suspicions — mold has contaminated several areas of the Griggs County Courthouse, the oldest courthouse still in use in North Dakota.

Two county offices — Social Services and the Sheriff’s Department — recently moved from the courthouse into used, temporary modular offices located in the courthouse parking lot.

The 10 or so workers could be displaced for two years or longer, while the county decides what to do with the courthouse, which was built in 1883-84.

The county is looking at potential remedies that could cost $1.5 million to $5.4 million.

“We have to do something,” County Commission Chairman Lyle Pfeifer said.

Workers ill

He’ll get no argument from Marcia Beglau, Social Services director, who contends the county should have addressed the issues earlier.

“My staff was affected negatively the most through the years and especially this past year regarding the health conditions of the 126-year-old courthouse,” she said. “It was not until four out of six staff went to the doctor. They were suffering on a daily basis at work from headaches, itchy eyes, sore throats, congestion problems, tired, achy, concentration problems, and many more of the symptoms of exposure to mold that we totally got the attention of the commission.”

She also believes affected workers should receive further medical testing — at the county’s expense — for potential longer-term effects of the health conditions.

The county took action once the health hazards were confirmed, according to Marina Spahr, acting states attorney.

She said the issue is one WSI has to address first, adding that the county has not received any formal request yet for additional testing for employees.

She added that any potential liability issues are determined, at least in part, by how quickly the county handled the situation from the beginning.

“This issue came up in May,” she said. “I think the county has been very proactive since that time.”

Mold, asbestos

Among the mold problems are various types of aspergillus, which can trigger allergies and weaken immune systems. Besides mold, the courthouse also is affected by coal dust from the furnace and hazardous materials such as asbestos and lead paint, according to the report.

The environmental report recommends both mold and asbestos abatement programs.

“The reports aren’t out of this world, but there are a lot of red flags,” Spahr said.

The social services department actually moved out of its old offices in early June, setting up temporary quarters where staff could find room.

“They would rotate, pack their boxes and move from office to office,” Spahr said.

Social Services has five full-time and one part-time employees, while the Sheriff’s Department has four full-time employees, plus a deputy who is shared with neighboring Steele County.

“We can go back to 2007 with these problems,” Beglau said. “But we didn’t miss a beat when it came to serving our clients.”

Both departments moved late last month to a pair of used modular offices now sitting in the courthouse parking lot.

The County Commission is facing a late January deadline to get preliminary designs from the architects and to prioritize three potential projects to present to voters in June:

- $1.5 million. Build a new addition, which would provide office space for the two displaced departments and to address accessibility issues.

- $3 million. Remodel the existing courthouse, including the addition of a new elevator to address accessibility.

- $5.4 million. Scrap the historic building, which was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, and build a new courthouse.

“I think we can renovate this with an annex and an elevator and make it handicap-accessible,” commissioner Dennis Halvorson said, with a nod toward the $1.5 million option.

The health problems are not confined to the basement, which once housed the county jail.

“I have to admire my staff for the last six months,” Beglau said. “They’ve been cramped and crabby. They really went out of their way for the clients.”

The original portion of the Griggs County Courthouse was built in 1883-84. One addition was built just before 1920, and yet another in 1960.

Besides water infiltration between buildings and entryways at or below ground level, it also has been leaking through the roof and walls. The red-brick building was built with hidden gutters, which have decayed over the years and have contributed to the problems, according to Sheriff Bob Hook.

He said mold issues affected the Sheriff’s Department, too. But nobody on his staff has sought medical treatment.

Halvorson and Pfeifer said one problem is a lack of maintenance.

“We never put much into this building, just what we needed at the time,” Pfeifer said. The commission often bought used furniture or carpeting when repairs were necessary.

“There’s been a whole lot of Band-Aid work done on the building over the years,” commissioner Diane Cowdrey said. “It’s not an easy issue.”

County commissioners said a public referendum on a courthouse building or remodeling project is a challenge in itself.

“We’re faced with what our founding fathers faced in the 1880s,” said Hook, the county sheriff and a local historian. “This is our government center. What a leap of faith it was to build this building in 1883, with virtually nothing else around, hoping people would come.”

Reach Bonham at (701) 780-1110; (800) 477-6572, ext. 110; or send e-mail to kbonham@gfherald.com

Tags: north dakota, griggs county, news, cooperstown, mold, health