Family Dollar, Adrian Barbell closed until renovations are made
ADRIAN — Two businesses on Maumee Street are temporarily closed following condemnation of the Adrian Plaza by the city.
The building that houses Family Dollar, 408 W. Maumee St., and Adrian Barbell Company, 416 W. Maumee St., was condemned last week by Adrian Building Inspector Tony Nicholas due to multiple issues stemming from a leaky roof.
The property owners were first cited on Nov. 22, 2019, for a leaking roof, stormwater damage and mold, among other related issues. A notice of violation gives a property owner 30 days to rectify violations.
Henagan said the notice was sent and received by certified mail, but the city heard «no response whatsoever» from the owners. The notice asked that the roof and water damage be fixed.
Henagan said «severe leaking» has persisted for months. The leaking has caused ceiling tiles to fall. There has been standing water observed on shelves and the floor. Mold is also an issue.
A civil infraction, or court order to comply, was issued on Jan. 8. All the while, the city continued to receive complaints from the public about the condition of the building, especially Family Dollar.
An inspection last week revealed matters were only getting worse, according to Henagan, and lead to the condemnation.
The attorney said the roof is in such a state of disrepair it is at risk of collapsing. Moisture is at risk of infiltrating the electrical systems, as well.
As of 5 p.m. Friday, both businesses were prohibited from operating until violations addressed.
Henagan said the condemnation notice was posted earlier last week, even though it did not take effect until Friday evening. This was to give the community advance notice as Family Dollar is a popular, within walking distance store for people at Share the Warmth and Riverview Terrace.
«We let them know ahead of time to give them the best notice we could,» Henagan said.
Owners reached out following the building being condemned and expressed an interest to get it back up to code, the attorney said.
Owners will have to obtain a new permit, replace the roof and fix any and all interior water damage, including dry wall and ceiling tiles. A licensed professional will have to remediate the mold and an air quality report will have to be conducted before either business reopens.
Henagan said the owners have the option to make the changes on a tenant by tenant basis. For example, the owners can renovate Family Dollar first so it can reopen and be available for nearby residents.
«The ball is in their court, basically,» Henagan said.
SPRINGFIELD — The Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse may be a moldy, dusty, dirty dinosaur of a building, but environmental conditions there have not contributed to chronic health problems leading to the deaths of employees, according to a draft report recently released by the state.
Trial Court officials commissioned an indoor environmental analysis of the courthouse at 50 State St. and the Juvenile Court at 80 State St. after employees of the sites sounded an alarm over potential health hazards inside the walls.
There was, and remains, a widely held belief that environmental hazards lurking within the Ireland courthouse killed two of its beloved judges — who occupied the same office — after both were stricken with with Lou Gehrig’s disease.
The “Indoor Environmental Quality Assessment for the Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse and Hampden Juvenile Court” was recently released to Judge John Payne, Boyle’s successor as presiding justice of Springfield District Court. Payne made it available to employees and members of the local bar and provided a copy to The Republican. The study was conducted by Environmental Health & Engineering Inc. (EH&E).
“Although multiple (indoor environmental quality) issues were identified and should be corrected, EH&E’s assessment did not identify conditions that would support an environmental work-related cause for the cases of chronic health conditions reported in the Buildings, including … ALS or cancer,” an executive summary within the 150-page report reads.
“Also, the historical review of the 50 and 80 State Street property and surrounding areas did not indicate evidence of sources or conditions likely to pose an environmental hazard in the Buildings,” it continues.
The study did note that EH&E found excessive dirt and dust on surfaces throughout the buildings, heavy dust and mold growth on and around air supply diffusers, more mold surrounding water damage, and filthy ductwork.
The company reported it tested the buildings’ drinking water, heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems — plus sampling the air for “volatile organic compounds and aldehydes; mold spore levels; carbon monoxide; heavy metals; and dust,” among other parameters.
“Based on available information, the draft summary assessment, in the opinion of many courthouse employees, minimizes or ignores immediate, serious health risks to courthouse employees,” the analysis, which was unsigned, concluded.
It cited — among other things — a third, unnamed courthouse employee who died of ALS in 2017. Like Boyle and Kumor, this employee had a window office on the north side of the Ireland courthouse.
“What are the odds?” reads one heading, while another reads, “Recurring unresolved fume incidents.”
Payne, who also is chairman of a 22-member Environmental Advisory Committee to monitor problems and the state’s response to their concerns, said he has called a public meeting of all employees and members of the bar at the Ireland courthouse on Feb. 7.
“We’ve sent out emails to local legislators as well in the hopes that they can come as well,” Payne said, adding that he hopes an immediate next step is to bring Trial Court administrators and facilities management officials out to Springfield to discuss next steps.
A new report found no black mold in the JCLS office of the State House.
Testing by the firm Silva Environmental Associates has found no black mold in the Joint Committee on Legislative Services (JCLS) office at the Rhode Island State House.
The investigation took place on Tuesday, January 28 just one day after GoLocalProv broke that State House records were being dumped, and the Rhode Island State Police were alerted.
“An employee in the JCLS office discovered black mold under her desk last week, and she was moved into another office. A steam leak was determined to be the cause of the mold. The JCLS office was evacuated today, the carpet was ripped out, and furniture and partitions contaminated by the mold were thrown out. All the employees were relocated while the repair work is being undertaken. The Department of Administration, which is in charge of the building maintenance, is supervising the project and is coordinating the effort,» said Nicholas Mattiello’s spokesman Larry Berman in a statement.
JCLS is chaired by Mattiello — and presently, his leadership of the committee is being investigated by the Rhode Island State Police, as GoLcoalProv first reported two weeks ago.
JCLS Investigation
As GoLocalProv has reported, the Rhode Island State Police are investigating actions tied to the JCLS as it relates to a threatened audit of the Rhode Island Convention Center.
In addition, House Minority Leader Blake Filippi has raised questions about records of the JCLS. Filippin sent the following to Montanaro following the removal of items from the JCLS offices:
«I hereby direct you to provide the members of the JCLS with a written log of all records and computer hard drives that were removed from the JCLS offices, their current location(s), and a list of all persons with access to these locations. Given the damage created by the presence of mold to documents and hard drives, additionally please include a log of any documents or hard drives that have been destroyed.
I also demand a written commitment that all documents and hard drives will be preserved, only accessed in the normal course of business, and that none of these items will be moved, removed or altered without prior written notice to the members of JCLS.
If I do not hear from you by 10 AM on January 29, 2020, I will seek injunctive relief in Superior Court compelling compliance with our General Laws.»
Should male and female juvenile offenders in Nebraska be kept on separate campuses?
A bill introduced in the Legislature, LB1150, would mandate separate campuses.
It would instruct the state to reopen the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center in Geneva for female juvenile offenders. The center has been closed since August when mold and other damage to buildings was found at the center.
At that time, the girls in the center were moved to the YRTC in Kearney that previously housed only boys.
The boys and girls have been separated on the Kearney campus, but some lawmakers and child advocates don’t think that is good enough. They say two distinct, different facilities are needed.
The bill was introduced by state Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth and has 23 co-sponsors. Among them are Sens. Dan Quick of Grand Island, Curt Friesen of Henderson, Tom Briese of Albion and Steve Halloran of Hastings.
The Health and Human Services Committee will hold a hearing on the bill at 1 p.m. on Thursday.
That committee has also released an extensive report about the youth centers. It recommends separate campuses but doesn’t call for dictating the separation in law.
Meanwhile, last October, the Department of Health and Human Services released a plan that would revamp the centers at Kearney and Geneva, but would keep both female and male offenders at the Kearney center. Under the DHHS plan, the Geneva center would be a transitional location for a small number of girls.
In addition, the DHHS plan would open a facility in Lincoln that would provide intensive treatment for youths with severe mental health and behavioral problems.
Which plan is better? The state could adopt elements of both. Separate campuses for boys and girls in Kearney and Geneva, as called for in LB1150, would be a good start. However, the intensive mental health treatment center in the DHHS plan is also a good idea.
Having three separate centers may be costly, but it would be a good investment by the state. The state must do what it can to help get these youths back on the right path. Otherwise, they are likely to show up later in the prison system. These young people need the chance to get their lives straightened out.
As the chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, Sen. Sara Howard of Omaha, said, “We must make sure that the conditions that existed at YRTC-Geneva are never allowed to happen again and that we have a solid plan for the care and rehabilitation of the youth assigned to the YRTCs.”
Days after a General Assembly office at the center of a political storm was evacuated due to a mold emergency, environmental inspectors found «moderate» mold in the space, but no «black mold» as initially suggested.
Days after a General Assembly office at the center of a political storm was evacuated due to a mold emergency, environmental inspectors found «moderate» mold in the space, but no «black mold» as initially suggested.
The Jan. 27 evacuation and removal of all items from the offices of the Joint Committee on Legislative Services, which manages Assembly operations, came as state police were beginning a probe into the motives behind a JCLS-authorized audit of the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority. Later that night troopers peered into a dumpster where debris from the stripped office had been deposited.
The rationale for the evacuation: a JCLS employee «discovered black mold under her desk last week, and she was moved into another office,» Larry Berman, spokesman for House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, the chairman of the JCLS, said that night. A broken steam pipe under the floor was identified as the cause of the mold.
The timing of the emergency — while Mattiello’s friend was on paid leave at the Convention Center and a lawsuit from the House GOP leader over the audit was pending — brought new skepticism and questions.
The lab results from mold tests done Jan. 28 by Silva Environmental Associates is unlikely to resolve the issue. (Gov. Gina Raimondo’s administration hired Silva to test for mold, which the contractor cleaning up the JCLS office was not qualified to do.)
In the air of the abandoned office Silva found aspergillus and penicillium spores in concentrations just shy of the «high» level. There were almost no traces in the hallway, the only other place tested.
The report describes both types of fungus in the office as mostly benign, with a few species capable of sickening people with weakened immune systems but «pathogenic» species are «rare.»
«We are glad the test results came back the way they did following the steam pipe leak and water damage,» Berman wrote in an email Monday. «We appreciate that the Department of Administration took quick and decisive action to protect the health and safety of our employees. Once the DOA finishes the reconstruction of the office, we look forward to our employees returning to work in that space.»
He said the earlier reference to black mold was a description of its color under a wet floor mat, but not a reference to Stachybotrys chartarum, a type of mold often blamed for health problems.
Two decades after a devastating fire made the building’s apartments uninhabitable, the complicated saga of Oliver Towers is receiving some much needed closure. The eight-floor apartment tower, since rebranded as Capitol View, has its renovations almost completed and is accepting rental applications, with approved applicants expected to move in between February and March.
The Eyde Co., which purchased the building in late 2015, took on a hulking behemoth of a project. Before-and-after photos reveal Capitol View’s metamorphosis from a dilapidated, deserted building into a sleek, modern apartment complex. The arduous physical labor that garnered these impressive results was handled by Lansing’s Wieland Construction.
“The damage and mold were substantial, If you were walking through the building you should have had a mask on,” Eyde Co. CFO and general counsel Mark Clouse said. “We took literally everything out. Everything you see here is brand new.”
The overall project ended up with a price tag of $14.7 million, with Eyde Co. receiving approval for a $2.4 million low-interest loan from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and a $1.3 million Brownfield tax credit from the city, which has a duration of 12 years.
So what’s inside? Eighty-eight one-bedroom and eight two-bedroom apartments. One-bedrooms are available as a 442-square-foot studio apartment, or in larger sizes clocking in at 586 and 592 square feet. The two-bedroom option is 886 square feet. All units feature one bathroom. Pets are allowed, but there is a deposit and monthly fee. Rent begins at $900 for a studio and reaches $1515 for the most expensive two-bedroom apartments. And each unit features a full kitchen, along with a washer and dryer. Community amenities include a fitness center, bike storage, an indoor lounge and a courtyard.
If you’re a budding entrepreneur, Capitol View also has retail space available. The two partitions on the first floor of the building are 1,992 and 2,494 square feet. They can be leased individually, or as a joint unit.
Why the name change? The original Oliver Towers was subsidized housing for senior citizens; Capitol View is not. And considering the building’s address has changed to 313 Capitol Ave. from 310 N. Seymour Ave., rebranding just made sense, Clouse said.
The most important task? Preserving the vibe of the tower’s late-’60s, early-’70s architecture. While not deemed historic by any legal body, Eyde Co. didn’t want to paint over a building that’s contributed to downtown Lansing’s aesthetic since 1968. Noticeable attention to detail confirms this philosophy, such as the building’s courtyard restoration, which respectfully preserved its sycamore trees.
“The initial focus when we acquired the building was to honor the architecture. I think when people try to change the existing and turn it into something it’s not — it doesn’t look good,” Clouse said. “We asked our architects to improve what was here, not cover what was here.”
If you’re interested in living at Capitol View, applications are available at property management company Village Green’s website.
Gallagher Bassett announced that Mike Hessling has been promoted to chief executive officer for North America.
The position is effective immediately and reports directly to Gallagher Bassett Global CEO, Scott Hudson.
“Mike has been a leader with GB for over seven years and has a tremendous track record as North America Chief Client Officer, leading our sales and account management teams,” Hudson said. “He has also been a driving force behind the building of our industry-leading analytics team.”
Gallagher Bassett, based in Rolling Hills, Ill., is a third-party claims administrator that also owns numerous independent insurance brokerages. The company reported $1 billion in earnings in 2019, according to its annual financial report.
Hessling previously was Gallagher Bassett’s chief products officer in Itasca, Illinois. Before then, he was a principal at Bain & Co., a Boston-based management consulting firm, according to his profile on LinkedIn. He served as a manager for Bridge Strategy Group before then.
Theresa A. Guertin named Managing Partner of SDV Northeast
Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C. announced that Theresa A. Guertin has been named managing partner of the law firm’s Northeast office in Trumbull, Conn., effective Jan. 1.
Theresa Guertin
Guertin has an active litigation practice, and she is co-chairwoman of the firm’s Risk Transfer Group. She represents clients in claims for coverage for property damage, bodily injury related to mold and asbestos, directors and officers and professional liability claims, employment disputes, and construction defects, SDV said in a press release.
Guertin has extensive experience in developing and rewriting insurance procurement language. She works directly with contractors and broker clients to identify potential deficiencies in policies before they are issued and assists in the negotiation of more favorable terms at policy renewal.
Guertin is also a sought-after speaker and has been a frequent presenter on insurance-related topics at conferences, seminars and webinars, the firm said.
Guertin serves as vice chair of the Insurance Law Section of the Connecticut Bar Association, after having spent two second consecutive terms as its legislative liaison. She also serves on the executive board of the Lawyers Collaborative for Diversity, whose mission is to make Connecticut a more attractive place for women and attorneys of color to practice law. Guertin is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and also serves on its Philanthropic Committee.
Topa Promotes Claims and IT Executives
Topa Insurance Company has promoted two of its executives – Kelly Yates as vice-president of claims and Tracy Tillinghast as assistant vice-president of information technology.
Yates will have direct oversight of the company’s claims department. He will be based in Topa’s office in Calabasas, California.
Yates served previously as assistant vice-president of claims. He had direct oversight of the property and commercial auto claim units, as well as the special investigations units. He has worked for Topa for nearly six years and has more than 18 years of multi-line claims experience. Before joining Topa, Yates was working for State Farm Insurance and State Auto Insurance.
As assistant vice president of information technology, Tillinghast will be responsible for “building productive and collaborative relationships” with both the company’s internal business departments and external partners, the carrier said in a press release. He will also help drive the company’s technology strategy and will be based out of Calabasas.
Tillinghast has 25 years of insurance technology experience. He was most recently the director of IT product management for the firm and previously worked for the California State Automobile Association before joining Topa in 2018.
Montgomery Consulting Appoints Forensics Leader
Colleen Vallen
Montgomery Consulting, an affiliate of Conner Strong & Buckelew that focuses on risk control, safety and claims services, announced the appointment of Colleen Vallen as senior vice president of its new forensic services practice.
Vallen will guide the launch of a new forensic practice and serve as senior vice president, forensic services practice leader.
“Colleen’s expertise in both forensic and investigative accounting makes her the ideal leader to build out this important service for current and future clients,” stated Michael Tiagwad, president and chief executive officer of Conner Strong & Buckelew. “Clients facing large and complex claims require significant assistance and expertise from proof of loss to final payout.”
Previously, Vallen was partner at Citrin Cooperman where she was the practice leader for the firm’s Litigation Support Services Group. Vallen has more than 20 years of industry experience, specializing in economic damage analysis and forensic and fraud investigations. In addition, she has worked with Conner Strong & Buckelew’s claims team for the past decade to assist clients in receiving the maximum recovery under their policies.
The Forensic Services Practice will focus on two key areas: claims preparation and forensic services. Under Vallen’s leadership, the team will provide services including preparing proof of loss and coordinating communication with carriers, along with assisting clients with economic evaluations and claim calculations.
Vallen holds her bachelor of science in accounting from Rutgers University.
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VINE GROVE, Ky (WDRB) — From the outside, it doesn’t take long to see Vine Grove’s city hall is falling apart. The 85-year-city building, a former school which now houses the city’s administrative offices and the police department, has a big problem.
Stucco is chipping off the side of the building in sheets, several parts of the floor inside are sinking, and many parts of the ceiling are caving in.
“The common denominator that people say is ‘Wow, what happened?’ Or, ‘How you all going to fix it,’” Vine Grove Mayor Pamela Ogden said.
Several of the walls and doorways have large cracks, and the basement is covered in mold. Ogden said the mold has been tested and is not harmful.
At a town hall meeting Monday night, dozens of residents listened to options of what could be the fate of the building: either knock it down and build new, remodel or create an addition to what is currently there.
The building would also have to become compliant to The Americans with Disabilities Act.
It was remodeled 10 years ago, but it’s something resident Sandie Sharp said can only be done so many times before more damage happens.
“What the mayor is wanting — a big two-story per se Taj Mahal — no, this is Vine Grove,» Sharp said. «It will never be a Louisville or Etown.»
A demolition and rebuild would cost at least $3.3 million. Ogden hopes possibly an addition can be added that would cost around $2.3 million. The money would be borrowed on a loan, so taxes would not be increased.
Ogden knows the building is an eyesore for those who work there or visiting.
“It kind of gives the feeling of that’s the city, and this in no way depicts how our city should be seen,” Ogden said. “A lot of people went to school here — which I did, too — and I get the sentimental. But financially-wise, we have to figure the smart option.”
The two-year project is expected to be talked about again at the city’s next council meeting in March with a possible vote in late Spring.
Around Christmastime, my son was diagnosed with pneumonia. Extreme mold exposure has been linked to pneumonia, especially in vulnerable populations like children. My emotional health was deteriorating, my new furniture was ruined by water damage, and my son was sick. I went to court and brought a lawyer with me. After several months, we ultimately won: The landlord was fined $15,000. To my dismay, however, this did not resolve the mold issue.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – The results are in: no black mold was found in the Joint Committee on Legislative Services office, adding another twist to the saga that had investigators searching a State House dumpster a week ago.
Top aides to House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello had said last week “black mold” was the impetus for an emergency renovation job in the JCLS offices that included the removal of carpeting, filing cabinets and other material from the office. The work raised eyebrows because it coincided with a state police probe and a lawsuit involving JCLS.
After the work had begun, the R.I. Department of Administration — which manages the State House buildings — said it learned from JCLS that no mold test was conducted before the work began, so officials there ordered a test. That report, done by Silva Environmental & Associates and released Monday, found no evidence of black mold.
“[We] did not find black mold. Not at all, completely zero,” said M. Frank Silva, an industrial hygienist at the company.
The report did find a “moderate” level of mold spores in air samples from the office, but the technician who conducted the test told Target 12 it was not unusual and did not indicate a cause for concern. Also, some flooring was removed prior Silva’s inspection of the containment area, making it impossible to check the original areas.
State police officials said they responded to the State House last Monday night out of an abundance of caution after receiving a tip about possible improper disposal of documents out of the JCLS office. Target 12 watched an investigator looking through a large dumpster outside the State House where material from the offices had been disposed.
In response to questions about the renovation, Mattiello’s spokesperson Larry Berman said an employee discovered black mold under her desk, which resulted in the evacuation of the offices and the ripping out and disposing of materials. The renovations were undertaken by Single Source, which did not conduct a test for mold before starting work.
Single Source is a Warwick company owned by the Pomeranz family, which has given more than $4,000 to prominent members of the Democratic Party – including JCLS members Mattiello and House Majority Leader K. Joseph Shekarchi – since 2015.
In response to the test results, Berman said “we are glad the test results came back the way they did following the steam pipe leak and water damage.”
“We appreciate that the Department of Administration took quick and decisive action to protect the health and safety of our employees,” Berman said in a statement. “Once the DOA finishes the reconstruction of the office, we look forward to our employees returning to work in that space.”
Damage Mold 