But the school board claims there is NO MOLD in the building!

Oh no, there IS mold at the dog track! Can we still sue the folks that have been saying that all along?

Thanks mike, one more conspiracy totally lacking facts shot down.

What conspiracy Paine Reliever? There is mold at the dog track. You seem highly confused.

Can anyone document one scrap of evidence that the district denied that there was any mold in the building? I believe Mold remediation was part of the original assessment.
Or is this just another talking point based on zero facts intended to create public outrage?

Well Paine Reliever can you document one scrap of evidence that anyone said that the district lied about the mold? All people are saying is that the dog track has mold. What's your point?????

Not confused at all. I never said there was not mold in the building. In fact, I would be amazed if there was not SOME mold in that bilding. Still waiting for that evidence.

Look at the first comment of this thread.bobby b.
This is too easy.

So did they put that fact in their fancy mailers Paine Reliever? Other than the stupid statement by Tracy H-A on 4/2 where did the HSD ever admit that there was mold in the facility? Don't you think it's important to tell people that?

No I don't think it is that important. And it was in the assessment. What if a vagrant broke in and crapped in a corner. Should they inform the masses? Bottom line is that people ARE spreading lies that A. There is bad mold and gaping holes in the roof and water is pouring in which is a lie and B. the district lied about it to cover it up. There is no evidence to to support your argument If you have some, please present it.

How do you know that not to be the case? Have you seen the dog track?

Video of the full meeting is now available at http://patch.com/A-vWZY.

No I have not seen the dog track. But forgive me if I take the word of two architectural firms and a more recent mold expert that have been inside the building. I think they may know a little bid more about it than some local gossip monkeys. You have no facts, just a redundant idiocy spiral of unsubstantiated charges.

And what a great time to do a mold study, AFTER buying the property! Wow! These guys are good!

Here you go again. There is no serious mold issue. That was determined before the sale. The latest study was done to address the gossip monkeys who keep spreading lies. Give me some facts, dates, grainy black and white photos.... Anything?

Hey we bought property with mold in it and got the expert to come in AFTER the sale! Wow! These guys are smarter than I thought!

So after reading the HSB letter of April 2 in reference to the mold issues at the dog track, it is obvious that the School Board was aware of the mold issues and failed to bring any of that information to the public until Mrs. Gehrke brought it out. After the cat was out of the bag the HSD then released information that basically said, yeah well we will clean it up before school starts. To me, lack of providing that important information is nothing more than a lie and cover up to the people.

It is not a cover up if it is not a problem to begin with. When the building is gutted, all drywall, insulation, carpet and anything else that mold grows on is removed. The steel and concrete is then cleaned. This was known from the first inspection. They never expected to move in with desks and students as is. As much as some people would like to make this an issue, it really is not. Mrs Gerhke is using this non-issue as one of her talking points because she is against the purchase of the dog track.

And they did the mold study AFTER buying the property! Does it get any better than that? The community is blessed to have such wizards on the school board!

so if mold is NOT an issue, then why not disclose it in all the fancy mailings prior to the vote? Why not state what condition the building is in - what was found in the inspection - ya know be upfront from the get go. Instead it becomes a "non-issue" and looks like a cover up - and you wonder why people do not trust/believe our current board and their leader?

Then again, if the mold contamination is no big deal than why not disclose it in the beginning? You know why as well as I, not to derail the referendum. Total disclosure can not be disputed, and the Board decided not to.

Gee, the paid consultants come in and tell us that it's no big deal. What a surprise! And don't you love the leading questions by Holland? They must have rehearsed the presentation together.

The mold is really a non issue in my opinion. First of all, I doubt the property is going to be rezoned by the city. Second if it is, do you really think they are going to use the old building? My bet is on demolition and start new. The plan all along, the board just won't tell you that. IMHO.

You're right mainstreet, the city is going to thump the school board on the zoning and all of this PR spending by Holland and crew is wasted money, but that's what they're good at.

The district said all along that the mold was not an issue. The people who just wasted the taxpayer dollars are the people who loudly repeated there was a mold problem knowing full well that there was not. Hudsonites repeatedly pay a premium price for red herring.

If the mold wasn't an issue then why have someone come out? Have you seen the dog track True Grit? Please give us a full report.

Bobby b. Someone came out to inspect because people like you keep spreading lies about the small amount of mold being a huge problem and cover up which it is not. Please read all the comments above to see the rediiculous circle you have led us on. Next you will complain about the cost of the consultant. Or did you already?

Oh the Paine is getting more intense.... The buyers (ie taxpayers, at least those of us who pay taxes) were never told by the school district in various mailings that mold was present, at whatever level, in the building. Sounds to me like full disclosure to the ultimate buyers was never made. Keep up the game though Paine. You need something to keep you busy during the day.

I sure do not want the Board or anyone else deciding what is or is not important to me. Disclose everthing and let the voters decide. And yes the Board did conspire to cover up the mold. How could the many appraisers and architects that gave reports miss the problem. Easy, they were told too..

I'm lost. Didn't we all assume that there was some mold present? I know I did. It'd be silly not to given the situation of the building.

In my opinion…the appraisal isn’t worth the paper it is printed on. If you look at it, there are no pictures or mention of the building interior, nor any close up pictures of the building exterior. The formula makes little sense considering the property needs to be demolished, and the parking lot is not even usable. It would take a shady character to fabricate such a number, but then I would consider a 5 time convicted felon of theft by swindle (one of the appraisers) to be just that. Wasn’t this lofty appraisal used to convince the public what a great value they would receive? If they wanted to be more truthful, why not say they made an offer to purchase land and utilities for a Hudson High athletic citadel? That might be believable.

Jeffery White the appraiser has a website where you can e-mail him your info. and he'll send back his results for inspection. If you do not like what you see you may return the appraisel for correction. Quite the deal...

What I find troubling is the fact that a purchase offer of $8.25M was made, committed with public dollars, without any appraisal done first. How responsible was that? What would the school board have done if the only appraisal they did receive came back stating the property was only worth $4M? I'll tell you what they would have done - they would have sought a second and third appraisal. Why didn't they do that here? Simple - they got a number they wanted the public to believe was valid and didn't bother to seek another opinion to back it up. So, DianeT - you are absolutely right. The current appraisal touted by the school board is worth nothing but one person's view - and it's from one with a very questionable background. Given the additional information in the purchase agreement pertaining to the gifting clause and then having this questionable appraisal produced raises even more speculation.
This school board has committed so many missteps in this process that it should be required to throw all of it out.

Great catch, Evjan Rattara. That is simply outrageous that they would submit an appraisal based on future improvements, including curb and asphalt and building retrofitting. The school district did not present this appraisal as such but rather what the property was currently worth.

I think there's a glitch on this post. Is anyone else having problems with their comments going into some sort of moderation queue? I've heard a few complaints and I'm trying to figure out what people are experiencing so I can report it to the help desk.

The public has been clearly misled by the Board. They ordered the appraisal that way but failed to inform the people of the "virtual school. “They used that inflated appraisal to convince everyone what a great bye the SCM property was thus gaining approval of the referendum....

No problems here, but I think you have the perfect opportunity to bring the truth about this appraisal (including the criminal background of one appraiser) to the public in a separate story. The school district never pointed out the extraordinary assumptions when they referenced this lofty number as part of their value argument.

Foley - that previous post of mine was meant for you.

Well from my honest opinion, I don't think the undisclosure of the mold problems was intentional at all. There is absolutely nothing to fret about and get all worked up. Mold, leakage and deterioration are common factors found in a building that has been vacant for quite sometime. And mold removal can be done easily in just a short period of time if that's really necessary. Perhaps the $8m has already included the mold removal services too. - http://www.mold-removal-toronto.com