CEDAR FALLS - Some of the Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers delivered to Black Hawk County have mold in the exterior closets, as has been the case in other Iowa counties.

Cedar Falls had surveyed flood victims and received 102 responses saying they would be interested in obtaining Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers. After FEMA contacted those interested, 30 were identified as needing trailers.

"There is some mold on some of those," said Mayor Jon Crews. He was unsure how many of the trailers delivered to Black Hawk County had mold problems or if those trailers would be sent back or cleaned up.

FEMA had tried to contact all of the 102 people on the list forwarded by the city. They found more than 40 had already found housing or did not need FEMA help. Another dozen people were staying with family or friends, while 19 people were not reached.

"The number of people getting trailers could increase as they contact more people," Crews said.

Some trailers were already delivered to Cedar Falls mobile home parks last week, while many more will be established in Waterloo this week.

In Cedar Rapids, the City Council wants the state to consider cleaning up mold on FEMA trailers instead of replacing them.

Some council members said cleaning up the mold from exterior closets containing hot water heaters would create delays in finding temporary housing for residents displaced by last month's flooding.

Over the weekend, Lt. Gov. Patty Judge ordered FEMA to remove the moldy trailers and pay for temporary housing for residents living in them.

Councilman Chuck Wieneke accused Judge of political grandstanding in her announcement made Saturday, but Councilman John Shields disagreed, saying there was no evidence that Judge was trying to score political points.

In her statement on Saturday, Judge said she and Gov. Chet Culver were concerned about the conditions in which flood victims were living.

"Protecting the health and safety of Iowa families is Gov. Culver's and my number one priority," she said.

Wieneke said it might make more sense to clean the mold from the closets instead of shipping the trailers back to where they came from.

A FEMA representative said Monday that none of the mold found in the closets was observed in the living area of the homes.

Nonetheless, FEMA has agreed to pay for those living in the affected trailers to stay at the Crowne Plaza Five Seasons Hotel, pay for their meals and for storage of their personal items until different trailers arrive.

FEMA already has shipped out many of the 200 homes from the city and brought in replacements.

Councilwoman Monica Vernon said it might be better to let the current plan play itself out, noting that FEMA has already acted on the state's decision.

Mayor Kay Halloran said she would immediately ask the state about cleaning up the FEMA homes and keeping them in Cedar Rapids.