Black mold at Arcola City Hall forces city workers out of building

FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas – Employees have been ordered out of Arcola City Hall after black mold was discovered.

The invasive health hazard has effectively shut down local city services in the small Fort Bend County town of roughly 2,000 people.

PHOTOS: Black mold discovered at Arcola City Hall

"The Texas Department of Insurance gave them until March 30 to evacuate the building," LaShawn Williams, an attorney representing some city workers, said.

The police chief and other city employees have reported health problems including rashes and respiratory issues.

Last week, Chief Brandon Torres told the entire police force to stop working, although it is unclear if that move was allowed under state law, which prohibits first responders from walking off the job.

"We had a day where we had many officers get sick at one time, we couldn't operate, so we had to draw a line in the sand. We can't operate out of this building," he said.

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Torres and his seven officers are no longer working out of the building, which has suffered from years of water infiltration, according to a city maintenance man.

"They haven't done anything about it," the maintenance worker said.

Arcola police officers now write reports from their cars, and occasionally meet at the private airport nearby.

"When we make an arrest, where are we going to process these individuals? Where are we going to store our evidence?" Torres asked.

Other city services are suffering as well.

Water bills, traffic court, and traffic ticket processing are all on hold as the City Council, criticized by some as being inept and slow to react, hashes out solutions. You probably ought to find an attributable quote, rather than just saying "some people say they're inept."

"Well sir, I really don't want to comment on that" Councilwoman Florence Jackson told Channel 2 Investigator, Joel Eisenbaum, Friday.

"But you're a public official, this is your city hall and your police department," Eisenbaum said.

"I understand that, but I would really not like to comment at this time," Jackson said.

Last week, Arcola City Council members had tentatively approved temporary trailers to house city hall functions and the police department, but the trailers were not yet in place Friday.

A remediation team wearing white biohazard suits was seen outside the building at 13222 Highway 6 (Rosharon mailing address) Friday.

After this story aired, The Texas Department of Insurance, TDI, contacted KPRC2 to refute Williams’ claim that the state agency ‘gave them until March 30 to evacuate the building,’ as Williams stated.

TDI is investigating the situation but does not have the authority to condemn buildings or order evacuations. 

"Our Workplace Safety Hotline asked the city to give us an update on its actions by March 30. It was clear from the first report to us that the city was already trying to find new workspace for employees in the building," Jerry Hagins, TDI Spokesperson, said.