County Risk Manager Questions Commissioners, Staff on Lack of Notification About Mold Concerns at 911 Center

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Editor's Note: This story was published in January 2017.

Claims of possible mold growth in the county’s 911 Communications Center at the Lewis County Courthouse has prompted a debate within the courthouse as to the accuracy of the allegations. The claims, made by dispatchers and published by The Chronicle Saturday, also seem to have highlighted a breakdown in communication. 

At a county department directors meeting Wednesday morning, Risk Manager Paulette Young said the incident was the second time this year she had first heard about safety concerns from coverage in The Chronicle. 

Testing of the space in question was commissioned by county staff in October. The tests determined there was no detectable levels of mold or spores in the communications center, which is on the top floor of the county courthouse in Chehalis. The center has sustained numerous leaks over the past few months.

This led Information Technology Director Steve Wohld to tell Young she had read “false information” in The Chronicle. 

However, no additional tests have been performed since October, even as leakage has continued. 

During a tour of the 911 Communications Center last week, one garbage can was still placed on top of a desk in case a leak reopened, and a second leak continued to drip due to staff not being able to locate its source on the roof. 

In a letter presented during a union meeting last month, dispatch union shop steward Kellie Bray, who said she was representing the dispatchers, said the ongoing leakage has led to possible mold growth, which has in turn caused some to suffer nausea and headaches and complain of the smell in the dispatch center. 

Young said during the meeting that even though the tests from October came back negative, she should have been informed of the complaint. 

After the meeting, County Commissioner Gary Stamper backed away from the idea that the dispatchers’ claims were fictitious. 

“I’m not going to characterize it as false information,” he said. 

Stamper also said if further tests are needed to provide information on air quality in the communications center, they should be conducted. 

Both Stamper and fellow Commissioner Edna Fund said they had not heard of the concerns over air quality and mold in the communications center before the meeting with the union members and representatives last month. 

“We were surprised at the meeting to hear that,” Fund said. 

Stamper noted that commissioners meet with department directors weekly and that the dispatchers’ concerns hadn’t been brought up. 

Fund said when a complaint emerges, employees report it to their manager, who in turn reports it to the department director, who should then notify the Risk Management. 

Dave Anderson was hired as the E911 Communications manager in October. He was brought on early in 2016 as an interim director, but dispatchers in March announced an anonymous vote of no confidence in his leadership. The vote was not discussed during the interview process, which excluded representatives from the Centralia and Chehalis police department, agencies with chiefs who had been publicly critical of the center’s management. 

Central Services Director Steve Walton said later he considered this dispatchers’ vote “meaningless” since it was not signed. The 911 Communications Center is part of Central Services. 

Emails obtained by The Chronicle show staff had complained to Anderson of a mold or mildew smell and reported their nausea and headaches. 

In one email, Anderson notes that construction masks were available to employees if needed.

County Facilities Manager Doug Carey said the leaks in October stemmed from preliminary work they were doing in anticipation of replacing the roof. The roof replacement was delayed until spring due to weather, and Carey said his department moved to fix the leaks as soon as they were reported. 

He said they have not been able to find the source of the one continuing leak, but he said it is relatively small. 

Stamper said the commissioners value the dispatchers. 

“We would never compromise any of our employees’ safety or health,” he said. 

Photographs taken within the 911 Communications Center and provided to The Chronicle showed damp carpets, apparent leaks and signs of mold.