WESTFIELD — Police and city officials are waiting for a report and additional testing from state inspectors on a suspected black mold infestation at Westfield Police Headquarters on Washington Street.

The City Council voted on Oct. 7 to spend $85,000 to study whether to repair or replace the nearly 50-year-old building.

Police Chief Lawrence P. Valliere said Oct. 8 that some of the insulation in the ceiling of the police station is suspected to be infested with black mold, though he is waiting for tests to confirm it. Valliere said that leaks in the police station and higher-than-average levels of rain have caused possible mold outbreaks throughout the building.

A certified industrial hygienist was scheduled to come back to the police headquarters this week for further testing. In addition to testing to confirm the presence of mold, inspectors have also been testing for asbestos and lead contamination in certain parts of the building. Officer John Blascak said that all tests for asbestos so far have turned up negative.

The building was constructed in the 1970s, and Valliere said that it’s past the end of its intended life cycle. Valliere has said that he and other city officials are trying to determine whether the building can be renovated or if a new police headquarters will need to be built.

Throughout the building, circles of clear water damage can be seen in the ceiling tiles. Circles were drawn around many of the spots to measure if they were growing, which they were. Valliere said that he has watched the water damage in his own office grow over time.

The investigation into the presence of black mold and other health hazards comes after similar findings this summer in the Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse in Springfield. A serious mold outbreak prompted the closure of the courthouse, which was subsequently cleaned. Valliere said that closing the police headquarters would be much more complicated than closing the courthouse. He said he has no way of knowing whether that sort of action will need to be taken until the full report is released, which will take several weeks.

Valliere said there are no known problem areas in the front lobby, the only part of the station that would typically be open to the public before the pandemic.

In an Oct. 4 letter to Mayor Donald F. Humason, Valliere said that “the process for acquiring a new police station needs to start.”

“We recently had the MA Department of Public Health examine the building for air quality and structural issues. I walked the building with the examiner and can tell you that his official report (4-6 weeks) will not be positive,” said Valliere in his letter to Humason.

Valliere requested $70,000 from the mayor for a feasibility and conceptual design study for a new station, and $15,000 “reimbursable expenses related to such things as; geotechnical undertakings and traffic studies for the selected parcel.”

The police station was originally designed to include a public fallout shelter in the basement, which was later adapted for police use. The shelter portion of the basement was specifically designed to be sealed with no airflow, making it a potential breeding ground for mold if moisture is able to get inside.

Blascak said that when the DPH examiner looked through a small door where the water cutoff for the holding cells is located, he told the police to not enter that room if at all possible, due to the severity of the possible mold outbreak inside. Blascak also had a video on his phone of water pouring into the shift commander’s room behind the room where the desk officers are located.

Beyond the issue of mold, parts of the station have been poorly maintained over the years to the point of becoming an acute danger to people inside. The station still has an indoor generator from the 1970s. In 2012, a part of the generator broke and was repaired by the city with an unsealed sheet metal plate that did nothing to stop exhaust gases from leaking.

Valliere and Blascak said that the generator remained that way until this year. On two separate occasions, June 8 and Sept. 25, the carbon monoxide detectors in the station began sounding, prompting evacuations from the building and requiring the Fire Department to vent it out. After the second incident, the generator was repaired by the city, with the correct replacement part having apparently sat just feet away from the broken generator the entire time since 2012.