Department heads mulling over where to relocate Hastings city hall workers

HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) - Department heads are trying to figure out where Hastings city employees should work. The city’s environmental director says city hall is unsafe due to mold spores.

City Administrator Shawn Metcalf said during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, where he said there were talks to move some employees to the Yost building on the 3500 block of Yost Avenue.

At Monday night’s city council meeting, Environmental Director Marty Stange said testing done in February indicated unsafe levels of mold. He said city hall employees have been exposed to unsafe conditions for too long and recommended that they be relocated.

Metcalf said waiting to make a plan for the future of city hall may have helped the mold problem grow.

“The city council has been trying to decide what to do, and so they have held off on doing things because we thought well if we end up moving locations, do we want dump all this money into it right now,” Metcalf said.

Metcalf said even though he has not wanted to make the situation about himself, he has felt the impacts of working with the mold in the building.

“I’ve been sick, with those symptoms since I have been here, and I don’t usually get sick,” Metcalf said. “So I guess the whole point is I can attest to when people are saying that their sick, they mean it.”

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