Administration Building open to the public
The Crawford County Administration Building reopened for employees and the public on Monday, July 7, after water damage caused the building to close on the morning of June 19.
According to the sheriff’s office, a malfunctioning piece of “fire suppression equipment” caused a sprinkler head to activate. The sprinkler head ran for approximately 45 minutes, according to a press release.
County supervisors and department personnel met in the county’s Law Enforcement Center on July 2 to discuss possible reopening plans.
At the meeting, John Poots, part of the county’s maintenance team, said that work on the drywall, duct work and insulation on the third floor is complete, and workers are now “just trying to get everything cleaned up — all of that mess that’s everywhere.”
Even with the building open, there will still be a few areas that are inaccessible.
On the third floor, the damage is mostly within the Department of Health and Human Services offices and is not normally accessible to the public.
“It’ll be a containment area, and that’s where 99 percent of our work is going to be,” said Poots.
He added the Zoning Department on the second floor may also be an “issue” for a while.
The building’s air quality is tested every day by a third party, and there are reportedly no health concerns.
The building’s electrical systems and computer network incurred a significant amount of damage. The county has not released a financial estimate, but Supervisor Gary Koch said the county’s insurance is covering costs from the incident.
The supervisors at the meeting debated opening the building on July 7 pending approval from the county’s insurance adjuster.
“Do you think Monday is too soon given that Friday is a holiday?” asked Board of Supervisors Chair Tom Cornford.
“I don’t think so,” answered Vice Chair Brad Steiner. “Once they get that hallway closed off, and he’s got no problem with it, I say let’s get back to what we can, as long as there are no computer issues.”
“I think you’re right about getting the adjuster to give us the okay,” said Koch. “The big issue is people’s health. So, if he’s getting information daily, he should be the guy who makes the call and says, ‘Yeah, you guys can go back in there, and your staff is safe,’ basically.”
