FORT SCOTT — Bourbon County has finally had its courthouse inspected for asbestos, and a report is on the commission’s agenda for Monday night.
An environmental firm did the inspection Sept. 29, under a contract the commission capped at $5,000. The Oct. 19 agenda lists “Asbestos Report – Beerbower,” two days before the courthouse elevator goes out of service for renovation.
Long before anyone took a sample, the public was told the building was fine. In July, then-Chairman Samuel Tran said the state had given the courthouse “a clean bill of health” and that “for the general public, we’re fine.” In September, he said the asbestos issue only became a controversy because “somebody took it and broadcast it all over the news prior to coming to the board.”
Monday’s report should show whether the building is safe for the public and for county employees. Tran’s claim that there would have been no controversy if “somebody” had brought the issue to the board instead of to news outlets can be checked against the record now.
What Jackson reported, and what happened next
On Friday afternoon, May 29, courthouse maintenance employee William Jackson sent his supervisor, Laura Krom, executive assistant to the county commission, a text message with photos of crumbling pipe insulation in the courthouse basement and asked for permission to have it tested for asbestos, FortScott.biz reported in June. He also photographed dust he said was collecting on desks in the basement work area.
The next morning, the county’s contracted human resources consultant, Dr. Steven Cohen, told Jackson by phone that he was terminated. The termination memo, from Cohen and Krom to Jackson’s personnel file, says Cohen spoke with Jackson “after conversation with Ms. Laura Krom and consultation with two Bourbon County Commissioners.” It cites his probationary status and Kansas at-will employment. May 30 was his 90th day.
The memo does not name the two commissioners, but commissioners Gregg Motley, Joe Allen and David Beerbower all say they were not consulted about the firing. That leaves Commissioners Mika Milburn-Kee and Samuel Tran, who was chairman at the time.
“A clean bill of health”
In mid-June, a Kansas Department of Health and Environment representative walked the basement with county Emergency Manager Lou Howard. It was a visual look; no samples were taken. Howard told FortScott.biz the representative “did not see anything that was concerning,” but added: “He did say that if there was active construction going on at the time, then it would be a concern.”
FortScott.biz asked county officials about it the same day. Milburn-Kee said someone had given “a verbal” account and that “it wasn’t a negative report — like it wasn’t bad,” though she had nothing in writing and had not spoken with KDHE herself. Krom said she had not seen it but had “heard that the report is complete.”
Jackson came to the July 6 commission meeting to raise the same concerns he had communicated to his supervisor the day before being fired. “If there is no hazard, prove it,” he said. “Release the inspection records, show the testing, let the facts speak.” (video, 15:57)
Near the end of that meeting, Tran took up “the issue of health and wellness of the people within the building itself” (video, 1:55:38):
“KDHE did come through the building. They did tour the building. They did inspect the building. They gave us a clean bill of health.”
He said that did not mean the building was free of asbestos or lead, but that KDHE “did see it, they did annotate it, they gave us a clean bill of health. … So for the general public, we’re fine. As long as you don’t go eating it, licking it, crumbling it, and breathing it, you’ll be fine.”
Milburn-Kee replied: “Actually, I heard you could eat it, you just shouldn’t breathe it.” (video, 1:57:08)
There was no report, and no “clean bill of health” that could be verified. When the Bourbon County Monitor requested the documentation the county produced a single memo Krom wrote on July 8, two days after Tran spoke. Not only was there no KDHE “bill of health” attached, the memo specifically said KDHE would not issue anything in writing. Further it said that KDHE “only regulates asbestos in connection with construction or demolition, not deterioration alone.” This apparently put the deteriorating pipe insulation falling onto an employee’s desk outside KDHE’s purview.
“KDHE cannot give us a clean bill of health”
Four weeks later, Commissioner Gregg Motley contradicted Tran’s claim (video, 2:19:59):
“Asbestos is a federal EPA issue. KDHE cannot give us a clean bill of health. The only time the state’s involved is when there’s construction surrounding asbestos.”
“Some people are afraid to come in the courthouse, whether their fears are justified or not,” Motley said. Allen said some county employees “refuse to go down there now” (video, 2:20:46). When the board asked for a volunteer to take on the issue, Tran said, “I’m not volunteering” (video, 2:21:25). Motley took it.
On Aug. 31, Motley reported that asbestos expert Dr. Arthur Frank told him “we definitely need to have it tested” (video, 58:06). That night Milburn-Kee moved to have the entire courthouse tested; the motion failed. Two days later, she brought a testing firm to the board, and commissioners voted to hire it.
“Broadcast it all over the news”
On Sept. 21, Beerbower wanted to bring resident Michael Hoyt to the inspection. Milburn-Kee moved that the inspection be limited to “the employees, the elected official, the contractors,” and Tran seconded (video, 52:58). In the discussion that followed, Tran said (video, 54:04):
“This has been known in this building for a while, way before you became commissioner, way before I became commissioner, and it became a controversy because somebody took it and broadcast it all over the news prior to coming to the board with the results.”
“Yes, we have an issue, we’re trying to fix it,” he added. “But it didn’t need to be blown out of proportion.” The motion passed 3-1, with Beerbower opposed.
William Jackson was the one who raised the issue. According to his account, he had been fired for doing exactly what Tran said he had not done: raising the issue with the board first. He sent a written request with photos to the commission’s own executive assistant on Friday, May 29. Tran, Milburn-Kee, Krom and Cohen then decided to fire him, and he was told Saturday morning, less than a day after he sent the request.
Tran’s complaint points to a proper path: bring the concern to the board before going public. Jackson took that path, and within hours Tran was part of the decision to fire him. Tran did not say what Jackson should have done differently. Jackson’s photos reached the news only after he had raised the issue through his supervisor and been fired.
What Monday should answer
On Oct. 5, Beerbower told the board the inspection “did happen” but he had not received results (video, 1:16:11).
The report should say whether the material Jackson photographed contains asbestos and whether air samples in the building found fibers. If the insulation is asbestos, the crumbling pipes over the basement work area, and the dust on the desks below them, become a far more serious matter for the people in that area.
If the results are clean, they will support Tran’s July assurance that “we’re fine.” If they are not, residents will have the July 6 recording, the July 8 memo and the May 30 termination memo to set beside them.
The commission meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19, at the courthouse, 210 S. National Ave.
