A Capital Mess

A leaking dishwasher may have been the least of the problems at the West Virginia Capitol Complex Cafeteria, which the state shut down. According to a report from Dr. Kerry Gateley of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, an inspection found mold in the ice machine, six pieces of "filth encrusted" equipment, clean and dirty kitchen utensils co-mingling, gnats in the food prep area, a severe roach problem, toxic levels of sanitizing solutions and stored food with no expiration dates.

"The condition of this facility was found to be far worse than on any previous visit in the last three years," Gateley wrote. There historically have been problems with food temperature, according to the report. Carl Frame, a former restaurant owner who entered into a contract to run the cafeteria in 1995, blamed the state Division of General Services for not being responsive to his requests to help maintain the facility.

However, the terms of the contract had Frame responsible for managing most of the 18 critical violations that really raised health inspectors' eyebrows. The state, for the first three years of the contract, was responsible for providing Frame with a suitable facility and utilities at no charge. The state also would take care of pest extermination. Frame did not pay rent. Frame was to maintain a sanitary cafeteria including all custodial services, according to the contract, which may have expired eight years ago. The state doesn't have any recorded renewals.

"It appears the majority of the critical violations were the result of cleanliness, which was the vendor's responsibility," said Diane Holley, spokeswoman for the state Department of Administration. The state had exterminators come to the cafeteria Monday and work on ridding it of the roach and gnat problems. Holley today wasn't sure if the state historically kept up on its end of the contract in that regard.

"I don't have the log or the record of when the last treatment was done, so I'm not sure when we performed those services," Holley said. "That is an area that we probably should look at to see if we did the treatments on a regular basis."

Gateley's report suggested the state implement a pest management system throughout the entire Capitol building to make sure the problem doesn't arise again.