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VERIFY: After mold problem at Perry's Public Safety building, will city replace ducts?

A viewer asked the question

PERRY, Ga. — A viewer asked 13WMAZ a pretty straightforward question: Will the City of Perry replace the ductwork in its public safety building after a mold problem was discovered there?

To understand the situation, a little history might be helpful.

The issue began around the start of 2019, when Perry's fire department was forced to temporarily move some of its firefighters to new digs around the city. The city's police department was also forced to relocate.

"Failure is not an option," said Perry Fire Department Battalion Chief Kirk Crumpton. "We have to keep going and the protection of the citizens of Perry has not changed, just the direction from which you hear the sirens may have changed."

Mold at Perry's public safety building forced the relocation.

Assistant city manager Robert Smith said back in January the city was working to clear out the mold and renovate the entire building.

He called it, at the time, "a rather serious situation," and, noting that different people have different tolerances for mold, said, "We're not going to take any chance on any of that," which brings us back to our question.

A viewer wanted to know if the air ducts in the building are being replaced or simply cleaned and put back into service.

Robert Smith wasn't around Wednesday to answer our question, but Perry's building maintenance manager Renia Davis was.

"What we've decided to do is to move forth with the engineer's report, replace all the air conditioning system, and upgrade the ductwork so we get a better air quality flow," she said.

When asked to clarify, she put it plainly.

"The ductwork will all be replaced," said Davis.

So we can verify, the city of Perry is replacing all the ductwork in its public safety building.

The new ducts have already been installed in the fire department's half of the public safety building and firefighters have moved back in.

The other half of the building is occupied by the Perry Police Department. Davis says work there isn't yet complete, but their space will get the same treatment as the fire department's by the time it's finished. She expects that to happen in the next few months.

In January, Smith estimated the project could ultimately cost the city about $300,000. Davis estimated, so far, the project is on track to hit its budget goals.

RELATED: Perry's new 'Your Perry' app connects civilians to city leaders

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