Big bill for mold removal in Lunenburg – Sentinel & Enterprise

Mold was removed from the basement of the Lunenburg Town Hall and on Thursday a couple of employees from ARS Restorations Specialists where finishing up the job by putting a coat of paint on the walls. Luis Puerie mixes some more paint as they work on getting the job done. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE

LUNENBURG -- Mold abatement in the basement of Town Hall is underway, and on Thursday crews were finishing up the $47,000 project.

Wearing a head-to-toe hazmat suit, project supervisor Edwin Albaladejo stood outside Town Hall and explained the process for eradicating the mold.

"We stripped everything out. Basically, if there's no wood, there's nothing to grow on," said Albaladejo.

Town records stored in the basement were removed before abatement began, said Albaladejo.

Town Manager Heather Lemieux said the basement can no longer be used for storage.

"We cannot store anything in the basement from this point on," said Lemieux.

Mold was removed from the basement of the Lunenburg Town Hall and on Thursday a couple of employees from ARS Restorations Specialists where finishing up the job by putting a coat of paint on the walls. Luis Puerie mixes some more paint as they work on getting the job done. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE

Lemieux said the attic at Town Hall is no longer a viable option for storing records, because "structurally the building can't handle the weight that's in the attic."

The $47,000 abatement project comes after the town spent $7,000 cleaning up waste left behind from birds living in the attic.

Lemieux recommended records currently stored in Town Hall be moved to classrooms at the T.C. Passios building, where the schools superintendent and her staff have offices -- and where the Board of Selectmen wants to move town offices.

"All the records need to be moved out so we have to address how that's going to happen," said Lemieux.

Selectmen Bob Ebersole at Tuesday's Board of Selectmen meeting said the records that cannot be stored digitally must be kept in a location that will not be susceptible to damage by mold.

"Any record has to be protected ... it all has to be kept safe and secure," said Ebersole.

On Aug. 15, the Board of Selectmen voted to continue the process that would move municipal offices -- and 56 employees -- into the Passios building. A study commissioned by the town a year and a half ago determined that could be the best option.

Lemieux has said the Passios building requires remodeling, including an update to its electrical and heating systems. The cost of the renovations has not yet been determined.

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Big bill for mold removal in Lunenburg - Sentinel & Enterprise