Many of us in the community are very upset [about] the developments and lack of news on the ongoing problems concerning the police station facility.

We are aware that there have been problems of mold or toxic substances coming up through the flooring. The problems were to be corrected by relocating the functions and employees of the police department to a temporary site, while repairs amounting to about $530,000 were made.

Then we were were made aware that the walls of the building are an issue, and that an additional $700,000 or more would be needed.

All of these expenses, plus the monthly rental of the temporary site, seem to be very costly for such a new facility.

We are also aware that there may be no guarantee by the contractor doing the work that the problem or problems would be permanently fixed.

Now there seems to be a sense that the city may be looking for a totally new structure to build from scratch or a remodel a current building.

All of this is extremely costly to the the city, which is all of us residents. I think we need some real answers to some hard questions:

1. What is the exact nature of the toxic substance, mold, or biological hazard that has caused the removal of employees from the police department building? It must be serious, and it must be toxic for having caused such an action to happen. What is it?

2. If the land for the building of the police department was sold to the city, who sold it, for what amount, and who profited from this sale?

3. If there was a known toxic substance, or history of possible contamination, did the city know about it, and were tests done to assess toxicity of the property?

4. Who did the testing? Who was made aware of the test results? What city officials, or department, were made aware of the tests results of the property?

5. What was the process of approval and oversight by the city on the transaction of the property? If test results were made, and toxic substances were known to have existed, where did the city fail in its due diligence of protecting the interests of the residents of the city, and who failed us?

We need answers to these questions, and we need them now. When we were first told about the problems, we were advised that the statute of limitations had run out if in fact there were any discovery of malfeasance or criminal activity by anyone involved in the sale, purchase, or testing of the property.

This, to me, suggests that someone knows what really happened, and it is too late to pursue legal redress, so let’s not waste our time.

Lastly, what assurance do we have that any past or current employee of the Peachtree City Police Department who in the future becomes very sick, and the medical condition can be traced to employment at the old facility that we, the citizens of Peachtree City will not be sued for knowingly having placed them in a place of employment which ultimately resulted in a debilitating state of life and possible terminal illness?

I ask that this council immediately appoint a commission, composed of community leaders, to find the answers to these questions, and issue a report by the second council meeting in May, if not sooner.

We need to know where oversight and failures occurred so that we may be able to institute processes and procedures that things like this do not happen again.

Juan Matute

Peachtree City, Ga.

[Matute delivered the above comments at the City Council meeting March 20.]

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