In an e-mail on Tuesday afternoon, Independence County Judge Robert Griffin learned there is no mold issue at the Independence County Sheriff’s Department offices on Myers Street in Batesville.
Griffin had just received word from an outside company that the county had hired, EMTEC, to investigate the possibility of a mold issue. That company’s president, John Hatchett, said: “To summarize, there were no mold issues. The air samples were all very good. Only one small spot of mold on the sheetrock wall in the north hallway. Very small and minor.” Hatchett went on to say the roof needs to be repaired or replaced.
Judge Griffin had recently had the roof inspected and said he has identified money in the sheriff’s budget that would be enough to either make repairs or replace the entire roof. He said he will take the information to the Independence County Quorum Court on April 8 and let the court make the decision on what that body would prefer to do.
Griffin went on to say that he wanted to recognize Mayor Rick Elumbaugh and Batesville City Attorney Tim Meitzen for offering help in the event the office did have a mold issue. The judge said the mayor offered the Scott Wood-Stanley Wood property, recently vacated by the Batesville Police Department, and Meitzen had a friend that could have given assistance if mold was a problem.
“It is gratifying to know our community is there at the ready,” the judge said in the email.
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