Sitting at his desk in the Waukegan Police Station, Chief Elias “Louie” Agalianos can see mold on the flags of the U.S. and the state of Illinois hanging nearby, as well as on the walls and in other parts of the building.
“It’s disheartening because of what the flag symbolizes and the sacrifices made for us,” Agalianos said. “It’s alarming because it should not be there and because of the health concerns of our employees.”
With the approval of the City Council, Agalianos said a professional environmental analysis begins Thursday, which will show him precisely what remediation is necessary to make the air safe to breathe and the water okay to drink.
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On Monday at City Hall, the council unanimously approved the police department’s request to conduct an environmental assessment of the police station and do necessary testing to determine the necessary work to rid the building of contaminants.
“We’re trying to take this as seriously as we can and as fast as we can,” Agalianos said. “We have another organization walking through explaining what the problem may be. They gave us an initial estimate of what they think if we replace certain things.”
Along with approving the environmental assessment leading to remediation, the council postponed a decision to purchase one of two parcels of real estate on Green Bay Road until they meet at 7 p.m. on Oct. 19 at City Hall.
Agalianos said he began getting reports from the maintenance workers who keep the station clean, making rounds daily. He was learning about a variety of potential contaminants and began talking to environmental experts.
“The cleaning crew there told us there is mold on our desks and on our walls,” Agalianos said. “Two to four five-gallon buckets of dirty water are drained every day. We are getting the assessment so remediation can take place.”
When the assessment begins, Agalianos said after the meeting, there will be air quality testing for chemicals such as cleaners, particulates like dust, and biologicals, which can include items naturally growing like mold. When the testing is complete, there will be a better idea of necessary work.
“The scope of which work needs to be done is under discussion,” he said.
Given a $25,000 budget to do the testing, Agalianos said the cost will be slightly less than $5,000. He does not want to speculate on the cost of remediation until the testing is complete and he learns the precise needs.
Ald. Jose A. Guzman, 2nd Ward, originally suggested the environmental testing and wanted to allocate $1 million rather than $25,000. He wants to reduce any possible delays in getting the work done.
“If they have to do the ductwork, it’s still held up because they have to come back to the committee and go through the process again,” Guzman said. “This is why I said give them $1 million. Let them hold on to it; whatever they use, they use. Whatever they don’t, they bring back. When that assessment gets done, he can say, ‘Go ahead, I have it in the budget.’”
Explaining the process is more complex; Agalianos said significant work like replacing the duct system requires allowing potential contractors to compete for the work. It is done in writing.
“We still have a process we have to follow,” he said. “Because of the amount to fix the problem, we have to go through the bidding process. I can’t circumvent that no matter how fast I want to get it done.”
After completing all but the final item on the agenda, the council moved into a closed executive session to discuss the sale and purchase of real estate as permitted under the Illinois Open Meetings Act.
As soon as the regular meeting resumed, Mayor Sam Cunningham put the question of buying property before the council members to “approve the purchase of real estate and execution of a purchase and sale agreement.”
Before council members had the opportunity to vote on the contract, Ald. Victor Felix, 4th Ward, asked for a delay of two weeks. Cunningham said the “holdover” is a courtesy given to all aldermen until the next meeting.
“I would like to put a holdover because I want to bring both properties out for a vote,” Felix said. “I want the public to hear both properties and the details since we’ve already been to final negotiations.”
Ald. Keith Turner, 6th Ward, did not want to wait and asked for a vote to override the two-week delay. The immediate vote on the real estate transaction was prevented, 5-4.
Council members are prohibited from disclosing the precise location of the property or any potential terms of a deal, according to Illinois law. The draft contract included in documents available to the public did not include an address on Green Bay Road.
Joining Turner for an immediate vote on one of the Green Bay Road properties were Ald. Michael Donnenwirth, 6th Ward, Ald. Sylvia Sims Bolton, 1st Ward, and Ald. Edith Newsome, 5th Ward.
Ald. Lynn Florian, 8th Ward, Ald. Thomas Hayes, 9th Ward, Ald. Juan Martinez, 3rd Ward, Felix and Guzman voted for the delay.
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