Colfax council approves mold remediation at Fire Station 36; city reports union agreement direction

The Colfax City Council on Aug. 27 approved a bid to remove mold from Fire Station 36 and reported that, in closed session, the council directed the city manager to enter into an agreement with the International Union of Operating Engineers, Station Engineers Local 39.

Council members said testing confirmed mold in multiple locations at the station and that remediation would begin with tear-out of contaminated materials followed by repairs. "The test confirmed there were multiple locations throughout the building that had mold, probably from water leaks," said a council member who presented the item. The council approved the single bid the city received; staff said maintenance crews will replace sheetrock and finish repairs during the winter.

Why it matters: mold in an occupied fire station can affect firefighter health and station availability; the council said remediation will be paid from a city fund set aside for volunteer-earned revenue. "This money's coming out of the $2.92 fund that was set up by previous council to take in the funds that were earned by the volunteers," Mayor Lohman said.

Council discussion and action: The presenter said the city solicited remediation bids; two vendors responded to inquiries but only one submitted a formal bid. Council members asked no technical questions on the record. A motion to approve the remediation work was made and seconded; council members voted in favor. The council also approved an amendment to its resolution to correct the station reference after an initial drafting error (the agenda had incorrectly referenced Station 39). The council recorded the correction on the record before voting.

Consent-calendar report: At the start of the meeting the mayor reported out from closed session that the council had directed the city manager to enter into an agreement with the International Union of Operating Engineers, Station Engineers Local 39; that item had been listed as item 2.d on the consent calendar. The consent calendar, including the closed-session report, was approved at the start of the meeting.

Implementation and next steps: City staff will schedule remediation work with the contractor that submitted the bid, complete tear-out and safety containment, and perform interior repairs (including new sheetrock) this winter, the council was told. The city did not state the dollar amount of the accepted bid during the meeting; funding was described only as coming from the volunteer-earned "$2.92 fund." No timeline for contractor mobilization was provided on the record.

Votes at a glance: The council approved the consent calendar (which included the closed-session directive to the city manager to finalize the agreement with the International Union of Operating Engineers, Station Engineers Local 39) and separately approved the mold-remediation resolution with an amendment correcting the station reference. Individual roll-call vote tallies and mover/second names were not specified on the public record during the meeting.

The council had no additional items requiring action that evening and adjourned after completing the agenda.