News
Commissioners voted to spend $16000 for asbestos removal |
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| News >> May 2008 |
Tue 5/13/2008 Commissioners have voted Monday to expend $16,000 dollars for removing asbestos in the old courthouse. Until 1980s, asbestos was a very common building material. It was widely used for pipe installation in the ceilings and walls of the buildings. Once its hazards became known, it was banned from such uses. However, asbestos still remains as a threat in almost all old buildings. Some of the money will be used for recent air samples taken to make sure the safety of courthouse employees. One family believes that asbestos in the courthouse cased the death of their loved one. Brent Coon, the attorney representing the late Jefferson County Judge James Ferris and his widow, said that the asbestos in the old county courthouse is directly associated to the death of his client in 2004. The lawsuit between the Ferris and Jefferson County was filed more than two years back and still going on. $16,000 dollars from the capital projects fund will be used to fix the asbestos problem in the courthouse as well as for the investigation into this matter. Problems have been found on the fourth and 7th floor.