LINCOLN — Lincoln City Council has approved two measures to help the city deal with mold at its second fire station.
At its regular meeting on Tuesday, council approved a remediation professional services contract by Legacy Restoration in the amount of $40,972.62 and an interior demolition contract by Apex Restoration DKI in the amount of $22,062.18.
Building Inspector Adam Thrasher said the two contracts came from a tender package developed from a mold remediation protocol the city received from a specialist. Fire Chief Josh Vincent said the fire station had been closed since April 7 after black mold was found in a wall.
Councilwoman Jennie Jones asked if the contracts meant the city would actually be able to fully clean up the building and return it to service.
Thrasher said contracts are part of the process for making that decision, but must be done before a final decision can be made.
“This removes all wall coverings, flooring, ceiling coverings, ductwork and insulation,” he said. “What needs to be done anyway for mold remediation steps.”
Thrasher said that after all of these materials are removed, the city will need to retest the building to make sure it’s free of mold.
“That would be the deciding factor if he can be recovered, I guess,” he said.
Jones also wondered why the problem arose and asked Thrasher if the building was not designed correctly. Thrasher said the problem was more that it hadn’t been built as planned. He said window sizes were increased during construction and some of the necessary ventilation was left outside the building’s attic.
“Adding additional glazing on this type of building and not increasing the heating of an air system will cause your heating and air system to underperform and not circulate the air changes as it should. must,” Thrasher said.
Councilor Joey Callahan, who once served as Lincoln’s deputy fire chief, said he was involved in the design of the building and the problem was in its construction.
“It was substandard work that was done to begin with,” he said.
Callahan said the building was funded by the state of Alabama, and although it was proposed, the city ended up using the detained labor.
“They heavily armed us to use the state corrections construction company,” he said. “There was no accountability, there was no oversight and it was a terrible thing.
Thrasher said the next step for the building, if it can be fully resolved, is to redesign the ventilation system and possibly install new air conditioning units to ensure the problem never happens again. He said that then the city would only be a matter of rebuilding from within.
Fire Chief Josh Vincent said mold has been a problem for years. He said the station was first fixed during a 2015 refurbishment, but that did not fix the basic problem.
The chief said that while the station was closed, all frontline staff and devices were working from the first station to avoid any disruption in service.
In other subjects, the council:
-Hold a public hearing to discuss the use of $1,250 of public funds for a contract with Fishers of Men Alabama Trail Tournaments, no one spoke at the hearing and the resolution authorizing the payment was approved. Mayor Lew Watson said the contract will allow the city to host five to seven tournaments with the organization;
—Hold a public hearing for several zoning issues, no one spoke about any of the issues;
—Approved a resolution to adopt the G Division Multi-Jurisdictional Risk Mitigation Plan;
—Approved a resolution providing funds for a lump sum payment to eligible retired city employees, as required by Alabama Law 2022-229. Callahan abstained as he is a retired city employee;
-Approved grass and weed reduction of properties on Oak Drive, Texas Lane and Jackson Lane;
—The approved rezoning of the property on Holly Hills Road owned by Edward Bently from a single-family residence to a residential estate;
—Approved the rezoning of a property on Hackney Street owned by Joshua and Brittany Gaddy from single-family residence to residential estates;
—Approved rezoning of land on General Affairs Riverbend Lane for manufactured homes;
—Approved an ordinance amending the zoning ordinance to add a detached single family home as a permitted use for recreational commercial areas, add a single-family manufactured/modular home as a permitted use for manufactured housing areas, and add sale and rental of vehicles as permitted use in manufacturing 2 areas;
—Approve an ordinance amending the zoning ordinance to add requirements for recreational commercial areas;
— Approved ordinance to remove language that allowed manufactured homes in single family residential areas;
—Appointed Clint Shaddix, for a term expiring October 26, 2024, Don Palmore, for a term expiring October 26, 2023, and William Poarch, for a term expiring October 26, 2022, to the Zoning Board of Adjustments;
-Approved the suspension of the issuance of permits for the placement of modular homes as recently classified by the Alabama Manufactured Housing Commission until the Planning and Zoning Commission can determine the appropriate placement of these units in zoning districts from the city
– Approved a motion from Callahan asking the city to hire engineer Ben Watson to look at drainage issues throughout the city. Councilman Brandon Tate voted against the measure citing concerns about not having a price tag associated with the measure. The city previously approved hiring an engineer to look into drainage issues on McCaig Road, though Callahan said the contract was not signed, although it was sent to the mayor. Watson said at the meeting that he had not seen the contract and said afterward that it had not yet been sent to him.
