MURPHYSBORO - All signs indicate there is toxic mold in the basement of the Jackson County courthouse.

Now, county officials are faced with the task of figuring out how to remove it, a process they learned won't be cheap.

During a building and grounds committee meeting Monday, county board members were bombarded with ideas from different mold disposal companies.

Ted Williams, a consultant to the county on air and heating issues, outlined a plan to dry out the basement that comes with at least a $5,000 price tag. Williams said that estimate does not include the energy costs it would take to run the necessary equipment or new equipment that might be required.

"In my mind (you) need to stop the source of this problem," Williams said.
 
All of the employees who were working in the basement have been moved to different locations, but the county clerk and recorder's office still houses some documents there.

"We just don't want to spend any more than we absolutely have to do to put books down there," committee chairwoman Mickey Korando said. "We just don't have the money."

County accounting coordinator Michelle Tweedy assured the committee and Korando that money will be found to foot the bill for the project, suggesting grant funding could be the answer.

"I'm not concerned about monies at this time," Tweedy said.

The committee heard an assortment of ideas about how to deal with the mold problem. Representatives from different companies said that having an industrial hygienist take samples - despite samples already being taken by the Illinois Department of Public Health - is needed to identify what exactly the companies need to remove.

But James Mueller, representing Earth Laboratories, said the problem could easily be resolved through a "fogging" process that would include the use of hydrogen peroxide.

He said the fogging would be, "arresting the spores and cause them to go into sleeper mode for a period of time."

This would give time to remove the infected items such as ceiling tiles, he said.

After hearing the options, the committee decided to hold off making any decision until the county's maintenance facilitator, Robert Popejoy, could investigate things further.

"I have to get all my ducks in a row and do my own investigation," he said.
 

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