LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Last night, the Lexington Fayette County Health Department's board held a meeting where they discussed the condition of the building.
The department's new commissioner of health, Dr. Sheila Owens-Collins, reported it was a complaint last November that led to an air quality test.
At the meeting she explained, "An air quality consultation was done on 1/7. And on 1/14 we got the report back and in that report, it was listed that there were multiple species of mold that were identified."
The report also found that the building's duct work had not been cleaned in six to 10 years. Asbestos, discovered in the process of a renovation, was also a concern.
In a statement, the board of health's chair, Dr. Rodney Jackson, says in-part, "While these readings are not to levels that OSHA deems dangerous or mandates immediate action, the board of health has voted on Feb. 6, 2023, to have the mold remediated. As part of the remediation process, there may be asbestos removal."
You can see his full statement here:
Mayor Linda Gorton also attended last night’s meeting.
Today, she says, "First we want to keep the employees safe, and second they need to know whether it's safe for the public to come in. I mean those are kind of the top two priorities."
Last night, the board voted to hire two separate companies to evaluate the status of the building. After the companies report back, the board will take more action.
Mayor Gorton says the city sent its own consultant today, who accessed the buildings safety.
She says, "I don't know all the results of that. I think on the surface they didn't see anything that would qualify as an emergency. So now they are going to be working again with them to see what needs done."
In addition to the safety of the 30 to 60 clinic patients and around 175 WIC patients the department sees each day, employee safety is top of mind for the commissioner of health.
Last night, Dr. Owens-Collins said, "I think that, everybody feels that we should do what's in the best interest of the employee. I don't think we necessarily all agree on what that best answer is but I can say with certainty that we want employee safety and employee good health as our number one priority."
Once the health department gets its other assessments back , the board says it will review it and take further action.
