Mold situation improves in Coaldale Complex

Coaldale Borough Council members got an update on the air quality situation in the Coaldale Complex, where elevated levels of mold were detected in November.

The borough hired Seitz Brothers to conduct air quality testing and remediation inside the former Coaldale High School building in December.

The decision came after Pathstone Head Start canceled classes and ended up moving its program to Lehighton because of air quality problems.

Council President Angela Krapf said Tuesday night that the borough has conducted its own testing, followed by remediation and cleaning by borough workers.

Krapf said a follow-up test revealed that two offices still showed elevated levels, but that all of the classrooms, the kitchen and hallways of the school came back at normal levels.

“They got back to me saying that levels have dropped significantly, but in the office, it’s a little elevated,” Krapf said.

She said that Seitz is planning to return to do some follow-up remediation in those offices, at which point they will retest.

Borough workers cleaned all of the surfaces and replaced flooring in the building before the follow-up test.

Pathstone still has not returned to the building. Parents said at last month’s meeting that they would not want their children to return to school in the complex.

The borough sent a letter to Pathstone on Dec. 5 telling it to stay out of the building out of caution. Krapf said she’s not clear on where the borough and Pathstone stand with regard to its lease.

“Upon our solicitor’s recommendation, we told them to stay out,” she said.

Krapf said between remediation and air quality testing, the borough spent about $3,400. On top of that, the borough spent $15,000 on HVAC units in the building. Some of the units were scheduled to be replaced before the mold was revealed, but Krapf said they decided to install more because they were told it would help to move stale air that was responsible for the elevated mold levels.

Krapf said it is important to council that the complex be a safe place for people to use, and council has invested large amounts of money in it, beyond what they spent on the air quality.

Krapf said that she was encouraged when the remediation workers on the project were impressed with the quality of the old school.

“All of them complimented the condition of the building,” she said.