HOWELL — No matter what township officials eventually decide to do with the aging buildings in the municipal complex off Preventorium Road, it will cost money.

That is the conclusion of Accredited Environmental Technologies Inc., a Media, Pa., company the township hired in December to conduct hazardous materials inspections on town hall, the engineering building, the recreation building and the fire prevention district building.

“This is medieval,” Mayor Robert F. Walsh said during a recent tour of the buildings. “Anybody in their right mind would say this shouldn’t be a municipal complex in 2010.”

The firm sampled all of the structures for asbestos, lead-based paint and mold.

Asbestos was found in a number of areas in the nearly 100-year-old town hall, a twostory structure with a basement and attic where many municipal departments are housed.

Asbestos materials were found on 930 linear feet of insulation on basement pipes that connect town hall and the fire prevention building. Asbestos was also found on 250 linear feet of exterior window glazing material on four windows on the second floor of the building and eight insulated fire doors on the first floor of the building, the report states.

AET’s asbestos inspection of all the buildings was limited to exposed, accessible building materials. It did not include active electrical components, boiler units, and heating and air conditioning systems, according to the report.

“No destructive sampling was performed to visually identify or sample concealed building materials such as behind solid walls, floors and ceilings,” the report states.

AET tested 240 paint-coated surfaces in town hall for lead content. Seventy of the samples indicated a detectable level of lead content in the paint coatings and 50 of the sampling locations showed a sufficient lead content level to meet the federal Environmental Protection Agency definition of lead-based paint, according to the report.

“Based on these results, original plaster wall and ceiling surfaces throughout the town hall building should be classified as lead-based paint coated,” the report states.

Mold sampling in all the buildings was limited to exposed, accessible building materials. It did not include intrusive sampling to evaluate mold and water damage below flooring or within walls and ceilings. Mold spore air quality sampling was not done, Moisture testing on plaster materials was limited to outside surfaces.

No mold was found in the attic in town hall. AET found water-stained tiles in 26 separate locations on the second floor, which indicated a history of previous roof leaks. A new roof was recently installed and testing of the stained tiles confirmed that the locations were dry.

Water-stained ceiling tiles were found in four locations on the first floor. The basement had visible mold growth on the north partition wall in the manager’s file room. The basement has a history of groundwater seepage, the report states.

AET offered three options for remediation costs for town hall. It would cost about $310,000 to address all of the asbestos, lead and mold issues, if the township retained ownership of the structure.

It would cost $72,500 for pre-demolition asbestos remediation if township officials decided to demolish the structure.

AET estimated it would cost $180,000 for remediation to transfer ownership of the building. This option would not require any abatement of asbestos found on window glazing, roofing or insulated fire doors, but would require replacement of lead-coated materials in fair or poor condition.

Recreation Building

AET estimated it would cost Howell $425,000 to remediate the recreation building, if township officials decided to keep the structure and renovate it.

Asbestos was found on roughly 3,200 square feet of floor tiles throughout the offices and corridor; on 5,000 square feet of joint compound associated with Sheetrock partition walls and ceilings through the offices and corridor; and roughly 256 linear feet of caulk around exterior window frames.

AET tested 155 paint-coated surfaces and found that 74 had detectable levels of lead. Eighteen of the sampling locations were high enough to meet federal definitions of lead-based paint.

About 4 square feet of paneling and wood trim on the main entrance canopy showed visible mold growth. Mold was also found on the south wall of the fan room and on a wood border along the top of the east wall. About 600 square feet of wood components on the west side of the building, including a door, wood trim and faciaboard had visible mold growth, the report states.

AET estimated it would cost $77,250 to remove all the asbestos, if the township decided to demolish the building. It would cost $330,000 to transfer ownership of the recreation building, according to the report.

Engineering building

It would cost Howell $375,000 to remediate and renovate the engineering building, AET said.

Asbestos was found on about 715 square feet of ceiling tiles on the engineer’s office on the first floor; on 3,500 square feet of floor tiles throughout the second floor offices and corridor; and on 886 linear feet of exterior window glazing on the first and second floor windows.

AET found lead in 203 of 374 sampling locations that met federal guidelines for lead-based paint.

Visible mold growth was found on painted metal window frames in a corner of the housing department on the first floor, in the janitor’s office in the basement, and on plaster walls, ceiling and inner surfaces of three wood doors.

It would cost the township $82,500 to remediate asbestos problems before demolition. The price tag for transfer of ownership would be $240,000, according to the report.

Fire Prevention Building

It would cost about $480,000 to remediate and renovate the fire prevention building, AET said in its report.

Asbestos was found in a number of locations in the fire prevention building, The locations included floor tiles in the kitchen pantry, linoleum in the investigation unit and public education rooms, floor tiles in the restrooms, insulation on basement pipes and pipe fittings, exterior window glazing on the first and second floor windows and tar coating in the low roof section in the northeast corner.

Of the 171 locations sampled for leadbased paint, 89 had some detectable level of lead and 60 met federal guidelines for lead-based paint.

Mold was found on the concrete ceiling of the telephone room in the basement, which had standing water on the floor. The first and second floors and the attic had no visible mold growth. However, the attic has a bat infestation problem. AET estimated that about 600 square feet of floor space in the attic was covered with bat guano, according to the report.

Pre-demolition remediation costs would run $77,500. It would cost the township $300,000 for a transfer of ownership, AET estimated.