FORT PIERCE, Fla. — The city of Fort Pierce is still facing challenges moving forward from its past relationship with the Humane Society of St. Lucie County.

City leaders voted in September to end the contract with the Humane Society of St. Lucie County. The shelter was under a criminal investigation and struggling financially. It also failed to upkeep the Savannah Road location to the standards expected in the lease agreement with the city.

The city took possession of the shelter property and evicted the Humane Society of St. Lucie County in early November. A request for proposals for a new animal services operator to replace the Humane Society of St. Lucie County opened in late October.

According to city leaders, only one application was submitted which did not meet the requirements under the city’s request for proposals.

Code Compliance Manager Peggy Arraiz says one reason they might not be getting more applicants is because of the current state of the Savannah Road shelter.

“If you provide a good facility, you will attract qualified vendors,” Arraiz said.

To bring the shelter’s condition back up to minimum code requirements, Arraiz says the city will need to invest $250,000 in the property. The Humane Society will not be responsible for paying for any of the renovations and repairs. The city says St. Lucie County has offered financial assistance and help with labor.

“It also includes replacing the doors, the siding, the carpeting, the paint. All the things we asked the humane society to do while they still had possession of the building,” Arraiz said.

The city has already started to take care of a rat and insect infestation by hiring an exterminator.

Arraiz described that nearly everything at the facility will need to be replaced. Arraiz recommends replacing insulation, drywall, carpeting, paint, wood paneling, and chain links on kennels.

She explained to city commissioners that the concrete and dog runs are cracking and screen enclosures are missing. She said there is mold and water damage in the buildings.

“It was a little shocking. It was honestly a little shocking,” Arraiz said.

The more costly and urgent renovations involve replacing the HVAC system, all of the plumbing and all of the electric work.

“The electric system was in bad shape. The entire facility was being run essentially with extension cords. They ran through the entire building,” Arraiz said.

She explained people complained about live wires and being shocked while at the shelter.

Commissioners said it could cost millions of dollars if they were to try to build a new shelter from the ground up, justifying the expense to renovate the current property.

City Manager Nick Mimms said he will be asking St. Lucie County leaders to extend their partnership to use a temporary shelter at the Treasure Coast International Airport to continue sheltering animals until repairs can be made and a new shelter operator is hired.

source https://www.wptv.com/news/region-st-lucie-county/fort-pierce/fort-pierce-still-searching-for-new-animal-shelter-operator-working-on-improving-conditions

source https://the-journal.com/articles/165755

Updated: May 25, 2018:

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source https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/virginia-molds-tort-versus-contract-law-12695/

PORTSMOUTH�� Cold weather on old infrastructure caused three emergencies over the weekend in the City Hall building already plagued with mold from past water problems.

Public Works Director Peter Rice said his department was called Friday night to the 1 Junkins Ave. building after a heat exchanger burst in the basement. Rice said the exchanger works like an automotive radiator and a louver wasn’t seated properly, allowing cold air to enter and freeze it until it burst. Rice said that caused the boiler to shut off, which killed heat to the building.

He said public works employees used available materials and did a «good job MacGyver-ing» the system back to operating condition.

Rice said a similar problem occurred with a louver in a garage housing the Seacoast Emergency Response Team armored vehicle known as the Bearcat. He said a pipe burst there and sprayed water inside the garage where the Bearcat was parked with the back door open. Rice said «nothing critical was damaged» and that burst pipe impacted heating to two rooms behind the SERT garage.�

Rice said another louver problem caused a sprinkler head to break in the ground floor generator room over the weekend. He said a water line froze but there was no damage, due to the location of that break.

«During cold snaps, weaknesses become apparent,» Rice said. «My staff is doing their best to keep the building up and running. We got the value out of this building, but a decision needs to be made about whether or not to make investments.

The 50,845-square-foot City Hall building, formerly Portsmouth Hospital, is assessed by the city for $14.9 million, but has been home to recent floods, rodent infestations and mold. Police, school and municipal employees all work there.

When a water pipe burst in January 2019 it caused flooding from the roof to the basement of City Hall, soaking stairwells and offices, the police IT department, carpets, walls and furnishings, from top to bottom, officials said. Facilities Manager Joseph Almeida said last week that sweating and rusted pipes created moisture inside walls �that haven�t been opened for decades. Vintage vinyl wallpaper held moisture throughout the building and bred mold currently being remediated.

The pending Capital Improvement Plan includes a request for $11 million for a new police station, which Chief Robert Merner said this month, will cost more than $20 million. The CIP also includes $400,000 a year for police building maintenance due to condition.

source https://www.seacoastonline.com/news/20200121/cold-snap-causes-frozen-and-burst-pipes-at-portsmouth-city-hall

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Organization uses Day of Service to repair hurricane-damaged Pee Dee homes  WMBF

source https://www.wmbfnews.com/2020/01/21/organization-uses-day-service-repair-hurricane-damaged-pee-dee-homes/

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Dozens of volunteers with General Mills and Joplin Area Habitat for Humanity spent Martin Luther King Jr. Day working on building a home for a U.S. Marine veteran and his family.

The federal holiday honoring King, referred to as “a day on, not a day off,” encourages people to volunteer nationwide to improve their communities.

Marine veteran Jesse Arnold and his wife, Breanna, also helped raise walls for their new home on New Hampshire Avenue. Hammers echoed throughout the neighborhood as General Mills employees went to work framing the home.

After breaking ground in November, the Joplin couple said the house is becoming more of a reality day by day.

“It’s a blessing, really,” Jesse Arnold said. “We’re really thankful, and we’re just trying to take it a little bit at a time and soak it all in. It’s one of those things where it doesn’t really hit you all at once. But the further it goes on, the more excited we get. Like today, I feel giddy in a way because I know this is going to be a home that no one has ever lived in before.”

He said he served as a diesel mechanic in the Marines from 2007 to 2011 and said the transition back to civilian life was difficult.

Breanna Arnold said their former residence sustained flood damage and started growing mold. Some of their belongings were ruined. She said that her mother had received assistance from Joplin Habitat following the 2011 tornado, which led them to apply with the organization’s Veteran Build program.

“It became problem after problem to where we couldn’t keep up,” she said. “I had to apply because we were sick, our kids were getting sick.”

This is the third year for Joplin Habitat’s Veteran Build program, part of a national initiative. The four-bedroom, two-bath home has approximately 1,300 square feet and is being built with a $24,000 grant from General Mills. It will be energy efficient to help reduce utility costs.

“I went and applied, and they said they were looking for veteran families,” Breanna Arnold said. “We went from there, and we weren’t expecting this to happen because people said the wait time takes about two years. It did not take us but a couple of months to get approved.”

The project is expected to be completed within the next four to five months.

Leilani McGinnis, of Joplin, was one of 24 volunteers from General Mills.

She said her brother, Justin, is a Marine veteran as well.

“It was really nice to help with this to give another family like his an opportunity to have a nice home,” McGinnis said. “We want them to know that their community is there for them.”

Joplin Area Habitat for Humanity is also allowing the Arnold family to rent one of its unoccupied houses while their home is being constructed. Breanna Arnold said she’s already noticed a difference in her children’s health since they’ve been staying there.

“Our 9-year-old has asthma, and she’s not coughing all night long like she was,” she said. “They’re just happier in general. They have more energy, and they have all of this room to run around. It’s going to be even better when we’re here because the backyard is a park.”

This will be the 167th house built by Joplin Area Habitat for Humanity.

“This would not have been a possibility for us without Joplin Habitat for Humanity,” Breanna Arnold said. “We’re really grateful for everyone who volunteered their time and donated materials.”

‘On this day, we recognize the legacy of a great humanitarian in Martin Luther King Jr., raise walls with a strong, supporting company in General Mills, and do this for a veteran and his young family. It is a joy to see it all come together.’

Scott Clayton

Executive director of Joplin Area Habitat for Humanity

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source https://www.joplinglobe.com/news/local_news/habitat-for-humanity-general-mills-help-local-marine-veteran-for/article_8b2ede4b-cd24-56a0-96e4-eabb2312ac07.html

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Water leaks in your condo: Who’s responsible? | Opinion  Miami Herald

source https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article239410743.html

Getting a good price for stabilization work on St. Paul’s is the latest conundrum facing the Garden City Village Board of Trustees. Although the Board was able to approve some of the work planned for the building, the Board had to reject the sole bid on one of the major components because it came in well over the projected budget.

The Board had planned on beginning a “preschematic, temporary protection and stabilization” phase aimed at protecting the building and preventing further deterioration in the near future, but at its meeting on January 9th village staff recommended that the Board reject a bid by Westar Construction Group of Syosset for “St. Paul’s school building stabilization” as it came in $356,500 over the budgeted amount.

Superintendent of Public Works Joseph DiFrancisco explained, “I am requesting to reject the bid for the stabilization project as we only received one bid for this project and it came in this amount over budget. We will regroup with our (consultants) construction management firm CNY Group and we will try rewording and retooling the bid, resubmit and rebid this project,” he said.

Last September Trustees authorized the first one million dollars to be spent after CNY gave the village its $984,000 estimate for the “Immediate Action Plan.” Cardoso of BBB called the first stage of stabilization “cocooning the building” which can include some shoring of patches and spot abatement.

Speaking at a November 5, 2019 trustees’ work session dedicated to early efforts and investment for the iconic, historic 1883 St. Paul’s building (as reported in The Garden City News on November 8) Village Treasurer Irene Woo explained aspects of the municipal competitive bid process and the typical four to six week turnaround period to achieve an award of bid appearing on a Board agenda for approval.

“CNY is putting together specialized bid specs for these four specialized stabilization work. Once the specs are received by the village we will perform due diligence as with all bid specs. The parties with the village will look at the bid documents. There will be much back-and-forth between village purchasing and CNY to ensure every proper item is included as they typically are in village contracts. One example would be a walkthrough as that would ensure that vendors who would bid on these projects would have the opportunity to come to the village and see the St. Paul’s work site and what work would entail,” Woo said two months ago.

At the time, construction management firm for St. Paul’s CNY Group represented by Walter Beal had delivered a project timeline for stabilization: if the bid were to be awarded January 9, Beal said the anticipated start date would be late in January. With work to be done outdoors, mostly on lifts, he assured the trustees that average snowfall would not hinder progress on stabilization items (although a snowstorm and blizzard conditions would halt work). He stated that by April, barring any heavy setbacks, the stabilization phase should be complete on St. Paul’s. The village’s environmental engineering consultants from Hauppauge-based VHB Engineering would be scheduled too, to perform testing and take samples from inside the St. Paul’s building once the contractors are on-site for stabilization in winter. Samplings would be comprehensive to detect the conditions and severity of lead paint, bird guano and asbestos (which is suspected but not confirmed). Beal reminded the Board that any abatement of St. Paul’s should not be done prior to the upcoming stabilization phase. With the delay to award the bids the entire sequence is moved back.

Maureen Dellacona, a longtime trustee of the Garden City Historical Society, asked the Board how a delay in awarding the “stabilization” bid would have impacts on the following processes outlined by board work sessions in September and November 2019. Mayor Theresa Trouvé said that domino effect was very possible with an unanticipated change to the scheduling CNY Group’s Beal spoke of at fall 2019 trustees’ meetings.

Vine removal, window protection

On January 9 the Board did approve two bid awards for early stages at St. Paul’s. As discussed last fall, the thick coating of ivy vines on the exterior of the building must be removed despite its regal appearance, as that will allow engineers and consultants to inspect the brick, walls, and structure overall. For vine removal, the bid was awarded to U. Arias Corp of New Hyde Park for a cost of $49,965 as they were the low bidder.

Temporary measures for window protection, especially to block out the weather and water the rest of the winter and into spring, is a second project that takes shape with a bid approved last week. Trustees voted to award the bid to Rockville Centre-based Talty Construction, Inc, the low bidder at $39,400.

“We’re awarding the bids tonight for vine removal and window protection and actually both these bids we’ve received came in under budget,” DiFrancisco commented.

Dellacona asked about the village’s process to try to get new and more project bids, and DiFrancisco said reconfiguring the bids and advertising them again over another three-week period is next.

“Hopefully we’d get more bidders and a more reasonable price. But for now we can move forward with the windows or the vines, as there is nothing stopping us from doing that. We are also preparing for the removals of the stained glass windows and their proper storage. For that bids should be advertised shortly and hopefully we’d be able to move forward on that,” he said last Thursday night.

At the September 12, 2019 Village Board work session on the project, Courtney Riley from VHB Engineering said water damage in the building’s interior has led to potential for mold and mildew and the abatement stage would cover removals.

“The temporary protection assessment report recommends making the building ‘water-tight’ and making sure to cover everything to further prevent water damage, the spread of more mold and mildew, and during the abatement phase — after we have temporary protection work — mold and mildew would be abated by a licensed contractor,” she said.

For stained glass removal and proper repairs, one proposal from Femenella and Associates, Inc. for $72,128 is almost half of the line item for “Stained Glass” presented by CNY; the other costs would involve storage of the building’s iconic stained glass windows in 9 crates, for a five-year period at $125 per month, per crate, totaling $67,500, and a $10,000 price tag for scaffolding or lifts to access the stained glass windows at heights.

That bid on stained glass removal and preservation is yet to be awarded, and the bigger picture is looming as the year begins.

At the meeting last week Trustee Mark Hyer asked DiFrancisco how many construction industry firms came by to look at the St. Paul’s main building for potential bids on stabilization. Five or six contractors visited St. Paul’s for a “pre-bid meeting” and had a walkthrough before project specifications were announced and the bids were sought.

Dellacona also asked about any follow up on the process with the interested parties. According to DiFrancisco, CNY Group did the follow up and based upon the feedback received, this is why the village now “will revisit the bid specs.”

source https://www.gcnews.com/articles/bid-for-stabilization-of-st-pauls-rejected-due-to-high-cost/

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By New Frontier Data

While the first full year of America’s federally restored domestic hemp industry began with U.S. farmers energized by enthusiasm for seemingly limitless commercial possibilities, by its end a host of practical realities had dampened many of their outlooks.

Passage of the 2018 Farm Bill the previous year motivated unprecedented cultivation: Nationwide, awarded licenses for hemp cultivation in 2019 surpassed a half-million acres (i.e., 200,000 hectares), or some 450% beyond total acreage in 2018. Unfortunately, many neophytes were stung by logistical barriers characterized by a lack of mature infrastructure (i.e., a lack of testing labs and processing facilities, etc.) which resulted in ruinous bottlenecks along the supply chain.

Other farmers found their crops afflicted by a more traditional nemesis: mold.

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Though hemp is more resistant to pests and disease than other crops, it is not immune to them. Risks of mold are particularly keen for hemp cultivated solely for CBD extraction, since those plants’ cultivated buds can easily absorb and retain moisture. For example, in Oregon last year, a bout of late-season rainfall caused an outbreak of mold which resulted in millions of dollars’ worth of damage to crops.

Among common mold strains plaguing hemp are powdery mildew, gray mold, and white mold.  As implied, powdery mildew appears as white powdery spots which make the hemp plant look as if dusted with flour. Conversely, gray mold often leaves brown, water-soaked spots on hemp buds, whereas white mold is characterized by fluffy white mycelial growth on the leaves and bud.

There are several tactics available for hemp cultivators to defend their crops. For those cultivating hemp for CBD extraction, the surest is to grow one’s crop in a greenhouse.

While outdoor cultivation is much cheaper than operating a climate-controlled environment, Mother Nature can be captious: Changes in humidity, temperature, or precipitation can each spur development of mold on crops.

When cultivated indoors, plants should be kept at least 10 feet away from a wall to prevent contamination, with air properly circulating to prevent mold build-up. Any infected plants should be quarantined. HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) filters should be replaced monthly, with HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters installed along with UV lights in the HVAC systems to reduce contamination. Anti-microbial flooring is another worthy consideration.

When curing hemp, the use of dry, airtight containers and oxygen-absorption packs is recommended, as are periodic check-ups for moisture build-up. The better that hemp is cured and stored, the less likely that it will become infected with mold.

Beyond those measures, hemp cultivators should note that the Environmental Protection Agency recently approved pesticides identified for hemp cultivation, including several fungicides.

As the Hemp Business Journal outlined last fall, such substances are considered biopesticides by the EPA and are «tolerance-exempt,» which means there is no amount of the pesticide’s active ingredient which is regarded as harmful to humans.

No amount of regulations or changes in technology will eliminate all risks of mold. However, by remaining cognizant of moisture levels, environmental temperature, and by investing in the right equipment, cultivators can ensure that their crops are protected while minimizing risks of damage done by any development of mold.

The post New Hemp Crops Cannot Escape an Old Adversary: Mold appeared first on New Frontier Data.

Image by chrisbeez from Pixabay

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