REHOBOTH - Almost a month after the Rehoboth police headquarters' leaky roof debacle and just days before townspeople make the final vote for a new building, Police Chief Norman J. Miranda Jr. said the station might now have a mold problem.
 
"Some spots smell so bad it's unbearable," he said yesterday.

Miranda said a mold company will begin tests on the Anawan Street headquarters.

"Depending on how the tests go we then might need a mold eradicating company," he said.

Miranda said the mold had been caused from the "sun beating down on the building's roof."

The roof, he said, has no insulation, which causes the heat to mix with the building's cooling system, resulting in condensation.

As far as leaks go, Miranda said his staff has been lucky - no leaks whatsoever.

"With the last couple of rainstorms we've done well," he said.

A month earlier on May 26, station employees walked into a sea of damage from a tumultuous rainstorm the night before.

Heaps of concrete and ceiling tiles laid scattered on tops of desks, chairs and drenched carpet.

The worst of the water damage was evident in the communications area, and both Miranda and Lt. Michael H. Brady's offices. The town's health agent and building inspector announced that the front portion of the building had to be temporarily closed for the day.

The communications center was relocated in a Bristol County sheriff's mobile command unit behind the station.

With the new mold issues arising, Miranda said he just hopes people remember to come out and vote on Monday on funding for a new police station.

"It's the big day," he said. "A lot of people were under the misconception that the vote at town meeting was the only one needed for a new building."

In April at the annual Town Meeting townspeople voted overwhelmingly to give the police force a new home.

The final step is on Monday. Registered voters must approve the debt exclusion for the town to tax over the levy limit set by Proposition 2 1/2 to begin construction.

"If people supported the project the first time," he said. "We need to remind them to come out one more time."
The new police station is expected to cost $3.7 million.

The 14,790 square foot building would be constructed on town-owned land behind the current facility.
 

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