Sean Rossman, and Jeff Burlew

Tallahassee Democrat

The state agency charged with inspecting Florida's restaurants and hotels has a festering infestation lingering overhead — literally.

Ten pounds of bat feces were found Thursday in the ceiling above the desk of Department of Business and Professional Regulation Secretary Ken Lawson, located in Northwood Centre.

The find comes amid a surprise effort by the Florida Legislature to move 1,500 state employees out of the building this summer following reports of mold and other environmental problems. Pending Gov. Rick Scott's signing of the budget, employees will begin moving out in the coming weeks and months. Budget language states lease payments must stop by July 1, the beginning of the fiscal year.

"Please let the secretary know his office is off limits until the 10 pounds of bat guano is safely removed from the area directly above his desk," said toxicologist David Krause in a Thursday night email obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat. "This poses an unsafe condition and he is advised that no one should enter the room or go above the ceiling tiles without respiratory protection."

Krause, of Geosyntec Consultants, said he planted an "air scrubber" in the office to reduce any "airborne debris" generated during the inspection.

State offices take up nearly 80 percent of the 500,000-square-foot property on North Monroe street, which houses offices for the Agency for State Technology, the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Education, the Department of Revenue, the Department of State, the Department of Economic Opportunity, the Early Learning Coalition, along with several restaurants, the Tallahassee Ballet and a gym.

Chad Poppell, secretary of the state Department of Management Services, which oversees state facilities, said the building failed to pass muster.

"After taking several immediate actions at the Northwood Centre to ensure employee health and safety, it became clear that the building does not meet our very high workplace standards," he said. "Out of an abundance of caution, we worked with the Legislature on a solution to identify other locations for employees to work. We would like to thank the Legislature for quickly addressing this issue as we work together to ensure state employees have high-quality work environments. Our number one priority remains that state employees have a healthy and safe place to work."

Mold could force state workers' relocation

But NAI Talcor, which manages the building, said they were blindsided by the news. The company had no inkling of the state's plan until it was brought up during a 10-minute budget discussion between House and Senate leaders on Sunday.The state paid about $7.5 million in rent to Northwood in the 2015-16 fiscal year. The state has allocated more than $8 million for the move.

After that meeting, Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said lawmakers are concerned about state workers conducting business in a building "riddled with mold and other issues."

Property manager Diane Tomasunas said Talcor was aware of some “air quality concerns” when it took over management of the property in the fall. She said the former property manager had been working with DBPR to resolve the issues. An indoor air quality specialist is currently conducting tests at the building. There is no timeframe as to when results will be available.

"We've been actively working with DBPR to address the issues that they raised. We're confident that these issues will be resolved in the very near future," said Talcor President Ed Murray. "But we were totally shocked by the legislative action that occurred without any opportunity from the owners of Northwood to give any input."

Employees recounted harrowing tales of air quality issues dating back to the 1990s.

One woman said she developed respiratory problems when she worked there from 1995 to about 2000. She started receiving breathing treatments with a doctor three times a week, and once her office was moved to Southwood, her breathing returned to normal. The woman, who chose not to be named because she still works in state government, said she and others used to return to work Monday morning to find small poppy-seed sized dark brown pellets on their desks. Air quality was a topic of discussion among a group of her co-workers, who at one point commissioned their own air quality test that found traces of feces from rats and pigeons. Subsequent tests by the state found nothing wrong with the air.

A woman who worked in the office for about 21 years until she retired in 2011 said air quality tests were conducted due to concerns Northwood was a "sick building." The results, she said, were inconclusive. She said maintenance staff used to screen off air vents to keep pigeons out and ducts had to be cleaned to clear out droppings. She added that during heavy rains, the roof used to leak and ceiling tiles would become so saturated they would fall. The basement offices, she said, used to flood as well.

Northwood is owned by Ajax Partners based in New York City. The building on North Monroe Street used to be the Northwood Mall, which opened in 1969. The building started to be used as office space in 1988.

Contact Sean Rossman atsrossman@tallahassee.com or follow@SeanRossman on Twitter. Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.