Posted by Scott D. Yost | Sep 16, 2022 | News

This summer, Guilford County got some very unwelcome air quality test results from the Guilford County jail in downtown Greensboro.

Those tests showed the presence of mold in the jail – and other tests found the same problem in the basement of the county’s building at 201 S. Greene St. in Greensboro.

The county has been dealing with the problem and, at the Thursday, Sept. 15 meeting of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, the board voted to approve about a cool million that the county needs to address the problem.

These mold remediation project costs are the worst kinds of expenses for the commissioners because they are (1) significant and (2) unforeseen.  As county staff pointed out at the meeting, they were “unknown to the county prior to formulation of the FY2023 budget.”

According to a report from county facilities staff to the commissioners, “Remediation is in progress at both sites and staff have developed long-term mitigation and prevention strategies. Facilities staff estimate the remediation will incur a one-time cost of $950,000.”

The good news is that staff is confident the new remediation and prevention strategies “will mitigate future high-cost remediation needs.”

The project price tag includes air quality testing, ceiling tile replacement and mold removal.

It breaks down to $882,000 for mold at the detention facility and $68,000 to address the problem at the South Greene Street building.

Guilford County Facilities, Parks and Property Management Director Eric Hilton told the Rhino Times that, even though the jail in Greensboro is only 10 years old, it’s not unusual to find mold in a building that age.

“It’s humidity,” he said, adding that mold often results in places where large numbers of people congregate inside.

“You often see it in hotels,” Hilton said.

The Guilford County Sheriff’s Department will be delighted once the matter is resolved because, ever since mid-summer, jail staff has had to move inmates around within the jail based on where the mold has been discovered and the work is being done.

There is an old adage that goes, for want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost. for want of a horse the rider was lost, for want of a rider the battle was lost. The point, for want of management and proper supervision and cleaning a million dollars has been lost. We need new management at the sheriffs office. Someone who is not overly concerned with new badges, emblems and hats. Someone who will hold criminals accountable. Someone who will protect us and our tax dollar. We need Phil Byrd for Guilford County Sheriff. Phil was a part of a sheriff’s office that realized a 66% reduction in crime and rapid response times. A gun and CCW did not take months.. A sheriffs office that did not have controversy and was respected across the nation. We need, pay for and deserve no less. Remember in November.

A jail that size probably has over 1,000 plumbing fixtures, countless other drains, nevermind the HVAC & human factors. Add in COVID where people have been moving less and it could probably easily be a mold disaster.

The cost to have prevented this probably would have been much less…. Nor an open door for potential lawsuits if anyone gets sick.

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The Rhino has had a long tradition of providing news in Guilford County. The original Rhinoceros Times, founded in 1991, went out of business in May 2013. Snap Publications revived the herbivorous beast and in October 2013, the all-new and improved Rhino Times was started.

On November 15, 2018, the last printed edition of the Rhino Times came off the presses leaving the world of print journalism behind and moving into the future with an e-paper. Readers of The Rhino Times will be able to rely on rhinotimes.com for daily coverage and opinions of Greensboro while gaining insider access to important Guilford County work sessions and events. The new online platform allows readers to connect and interact with each other as well as the journalists.

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