YOUR AD HERE »

Steamboat Springs Parks and Recreation building gets deep cleaning

Michael Schrantz

— A Steamboat Springs city building is getting a deep clean.

Steamboat Springs Parks, Open Space and Recreational Services offices behind the Howelsen Ice Arena are having mold remediation done by EcoTreck Environmental Solutions.

Chris Wilson, director of the Parks and Recreation Department, said he has had an allergic reaction to mold he thinks is living in the offices.



Wilson moved out of his office in the building and into the ice arena because of his symptoms.

“Ninety-nine point nine percent of the staff had no problems,” Wilson said, adding that he thinks old storage bags brought into the building were the root of his symptoms.



Once the bags were removed, he said, his symptoms improved.

“We did some carpet cleaning, and I think we reactivated the mold,” he said.

Wilson said one other employee had a reaction that Wilson attributed to mold. That employee works out of the ice arena but would’ve spent time in the offices that Wilson said are the root of the issues.

Anne Small, the city’s director of general services, said the cleaning will cost about $7,500.

Wilson has been receiving treatment at National Jewish Health in Denver, a hospital specializing in respiratory, cardiac and immune conditions. Tests concluded that he is allergic to a range of water-borne molds, Wilson said.

The city’s insurance company ran tests on the building, Wilson said, but only detected typical levels of allergens.

“Trying to decipher these sort of allergen and building issues is challenging,” Wilson said.

Despite the lack of high levels of allergens, the best step was to do some cleaning, he said.

“You have an employee with an issue, you take care of it,” Interim City Manager Deb Hinsvark said. “You do look at these things and take your employees seriously.”

“The city has been great working through a process and getting the problem identified and solved,” Wilson said. “As an employee, I really appreciate working through the process.”

Wilson said he thinks the EcoTreck cleaning will solve the problem, but if it doesn’t, he has been working with doctors at National Jewish Health on some things he can do to mitigate his reaction.

Wilson hopes to be back in his office Monday.

To reach Michael Schrantz, call 970-871-4206 or email mschrantz@SteamboatToday.com


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Steamboat and Routt County make the Steamboat Pilot & Today’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.