At their Oct. 16 meeting, Bethel selectmen and town officials discussed moving the Town Office temporarily to the Fire Station. From left: Selectmen Frank Del Duca, Sarah Southam, Pat McCartney, Chair Michele Varuolo Cole, Town Manager Sharon Jackson, Selectman Meryl Kelly, Town Clerk Jessicca Grover. The board met in the meeting room in the Cole BlockTown Office.  A. Aloisio

BETHEL — Mold in the basement of the 19th-century Bethel Town Office prompted selectmen to move the Town Office temporarily to the Fire Station beginning Tuesday (Oct. 22) of this week.

The mold was discovered in mid-September behind an old boiler when town staff went downstairs to retrieve items to be used in the upcoming November election. Town officials said no mold problems had been observed when staff members were in the basement in June.

On Sept. 30 the Bethel select board approved $72,000 to begin mitigation on the mold, and also remove asbestos in the basement. Octagon Cleaning and Restoration of Windham began initial work last Wednesday, with completion expected in 15 to 20 days.

But an air quality test done earlier this month in the basement and on the first floor, where the Town Office is located, revealed mold levels that were concerning, according to Town Manager Sharon Jackson.

Levels in the Code Enforcement room were high enough to prompt moving that staff immediately to the Bethel Airport building temporarily.

While the air quality levels were not as serious in the other office rooms, they were still concerning for the staff and public, town officials said.

They had expressed concern in September about liability issues for keeping the staff and public in the current office.

At their Oct. 16 meeting, the selectmen discussed options for moving that staff temporarily also.

They determined the nearby Fire Station at 9 Mill Hill was viable, as it has rooms in the back part of the building that could be temporarily converted to accommodate the staff and the public coming to do business.

Early voting

Complicating the discussion initially were plans to process early voting ballots by machine for the Nov. 5 election. That would happen Nov. 2, Town Clerk Jessicca Grover said. The ballots would then have to be stored securely and officially counted on Election Day, she said.

Grover said they expect 600 to 700 early ballots.

“We need to make sure it’s a transparent process,” she said.

Grover said she was in touch last week with the Secretary of State’s office about the procedure for changing the location and planning how to secure the ballots.

Early voting is now scheduled for the Fire Station, according to the town website.

During the discussion of the past two months, selectmen have also wondered about the wisdom of making repairs and long term improvements on such an old building.

Though reluctant to spend the money for the mold mitigation, they decided they had to do it regardless of long term plans for the building, in order to keep the situation from getting worse.

A representative from Octagon inspected the current Town Office last Thursday to determine what cleaning needed to take place.

No mold had been found on surfaces there in the earlier testing, town officials said.

A separate air quality test was done this past Monday at the Bethel Citizen newspaper office, which is located in the same building as the Town Office and on the same floor.

The building will be inspected again after the mitigation process to determine if it is safe for the Town Office to move back, according to town officials.