An Arkansas Department of Labor safety and health specialist inspected the Blytheville Police Department facility on Friday.
According to Mayor James Sanders, the inspector, Eddie Newsom, is working on a report for his findings.
Did Newsom say the building is a health hazard?
"No, again, I've not gotten anything official from him," Sanders said. "He told me he will send us a report."
When asked if there were any health hazards, Newsom told the Courier News that his report would be available within the next two weeks.
"I talked with the mayor and he explained what's going on," Newsom said. "They are in the process of renovating."
The aging building has had issues for years, including major leaks and even reported mold.
In fact, Sanders said because of the condition of the building, the city accepted the old National Guard Armory, which he hopes one day will house the police department.
The mayor noted, however, to modify the building to fit the city's needs it would cost about $2.3 million.
He said he explained the city's plans to the inspector.
"The reason we wanted the building is because this building here is leaking, and it's leaking in the jail facility and it's disrupting the operations at the police department," Sanders said. "They don't have enough space. The reason that we accepted the National Guard Armory is we were already looking at a way to find or build a building that would house our police officers, almost a year or two years ago. That was one of the things we wanted to do with the tax -- building a new police facility, which would have helped us with the issue with the jail fees. We were looking long-term."
Last year, voters shot down a 1-cent tax proposal, which was to fund a new police facility along with several other projects, according to Sanders. Critics argued the tax was not dedicated to specific purposes.
"The tax did not pass so we didn't have the funding to proceed on that," Sanders said of renovating the Armory.
He said the city's infrastructure is old, not only the pipes, but also its buildings.
"These are things that we need to address and we need to address them as soon as possible," Sanders said. "Everything has a shelf life, a lot of the lives are running out."
He added: "I believe our police and our firefighters need a safe place to work and to operate in."
mbrasfield@blythevillecourier.com