Poor air quality has forced the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce to relocate until the problem is fixed or a permanent place is found.

Friday, September 07, 2001

Poor air quality has forced the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce to relocate until the problem is fixed or a permanent place is found.

The chamber, along with the Albert Lea Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Big Island Rendezvous, is moving this weekend into a temporary office in the lower level of the Home Federal Bank building at 143 West Clark Street.

According to chamber president Allen Pelvit, the three organizations decided to vacate their offices on North Broadway after environmental tests detected unusually high levels of mold and fungus in the air. Discussions with building owner Adrian Hestness to improve the air quality are ongoing, he said.

&uot;Our board has been discussing the move for awhile, and we just decided that it was time,&uot; Pelvit said. The chamber still has a lease on the North Broadway office. If something can be done about the air quality, Pelvit said, the organization would consider moving back.

&uot;Right now we’re entertaining several options, one of which is to move back into the North Broadway facility,&uot; he said. &uot;There are also a couple of other spots that could serve as a permanent home for us.&uot;

The new office in the Home Federal Bank building lacks a large central conference room, but has sufficient space otherwise, Pelvit said. Any permanent location needs to be spacious enough to accommodate all three organizations.

&uot;We’re very fortunate to have found the office there, and the people at the bank will let us stay as long as we need – possibly as long as a year,&uot; he said. &uot;I feel like we have some breathing room now while we try to find a solution.&uot;

Staff members from the three organizations have been packing boxes for several days in anticipation of the move, Pelvit said. Volunteers from the chamber’s membership will move desks and other office furniture this weekend.

&uot;We hope to be up and running again by Monday,&uot; he said.

The telephone number and Internet address for the organizations has not changed. Pelvit said he invites all chamber members and the public to stop in and visit the new location.

The chamber is not the first tenant of the North Broadway building to relocate due to air quality concerns. Greater Jobs, Inc. moved to Riverland Community College in July while waiting for their permanent location in the North Aire Industrial Park.