TAMPA - Between 600 and 800 traffic court cases next week will be postponed indefinitely after dangerous mold levels were detected at a courtroom within the Floriland Business Center.
 
The civil cases, all arraignments, were scheduled for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Word of the health hazard came Friday, making it too late for court officials to notify defendants personally, they said. Court employees will inform people outside the business center next week when they arrive.

Only hearings scheduled for the Floriland courtroom are delayed.

None of those hearings have been rescheduled, and it's unlikely the delay could cause dismissals, court administrator Mike Bridenback said. Court officials will ask the state Supreme Court for a special provision that suspends time limits in cases with pressing deadlines, he said.

Chief Judge Manuel Menendez should announce an alternate hearing location early next week, Bridenback said.
Air conditioning breakdowns and roof leaks are behind the mold outbreak, county health officials said. Repairs could take a month.

The setback exacerbates an already overburdened traffic court system, something Menendez called "a mess" even before Friday's news.

The number of traffic tickets has swelled 52 percent in five years, but resources to handle them haven't kept up, causing law enforcement officers to clock overtime waiting for hearings.

Because of the backlog, Bridenback said Menendez will announce a plan that includes additional "judicial resources" to relieve the swollen dockets.

The Floriland Traffic Department, also in the building, suspended its operations Friday and shifted its 103 employees to various satellite or backup offices, said Linda Goldstein, court clerk director of strategic planning. Traffic tickets, meanwhile, can be paid at those locations and online at www.hillsclerk.com.

The Clerk of the Circuit Court has had an office in the $8.7-million Floriland Business Center, an old shopping mall at 9309 N Florida Ave., since 2002.

Clerk of the Circuit Court Pat Frank said that almost immediately after her employees moved in she complained to county officials about conditions.

The building is owned by Centermall Inc., a West Palm Beach company, property records show. But the county holds some responsibility for the lease, which commissioners signed.

During a recent rainstorm, Frank said, water poured through the roof, endangering employees and expensive equipment.

Frank said attorneys are looking into the dispute because Hillsborough officials, including County Administrator Pat Bean, haven't been responsive.

"I told Miss Bean I'm not going to pay for anything," Frank said, saying a state law doesn't allow her to use her budget for repairs.

Frank said air conditioners in the building are on their last legs, employees' cars have been burglarized and graffiti took too long to be painted over.

Bean said the county has provided several remedies over the years. She said legal issues surrounding who's responsible for the building are in dispute and need to be sorted out.

She pointed out that Frank signed the lease on the building, back when she was chairwoman of the county commission.

"I can't really say that I agree that we've been unresponsive," Bean said. "Yes, I've heard her complain periodically that conditions are not as nice as she'd like them to be. But Tuesday was the first time I had heard there was no air conditioning and something was leaking out into the building."

Frank said she brought up the roof leaks Aug. 6, if not earlier.

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/09/08/Hillsborough/Toxic_mold_clogs_dock.shtml#