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While the county is waiting for a report from a forensic engineer on the Aug. 29 roof collapse at the Justice Building, Robinson Construction will begin cleanup and preservation this week or next.
At Tuesday’s Kosciusko County Commissioners meeting, Commissioner Cary Groninger provided an update on the incident where some limestone panels fell from the north-end entryway (facing Lake Street) of the Justice Building.
“First of all, we have to praise the Lord for nobody physically being injured during this incident that happened over there. We are trying to be empathetic to those employees who have experienced some anxiety from this accident. We understand that people use that entrance or are in that entry way, so we want to make sure that we do understand that there are some concerns out there,” he said.
He thanked County Administrator Marsha McSherry for her and her team’s efforts in providing a speedy response to the accident. It happened on the Friday of Labor Day weekend when everyone was ready to head home.
“So just a lot of things there that kind of made it tough to get people there, but we were able to get the building evacuated. Appreciate the sheriff and his department helping with that as well. I just appreciate Marsha’s response and the team’s response to that,” Groninger said.
He said the county has had multiple experts and engineers out to inspect the damage to try to help determine the cause of the collapse, as well as what might be a long-term solution.
“We’re awaiting our report back from a forensic engineer that was in last week, for his findings and possible cause or what the next steps forward or solution might be. So we’re working on that,” he said.
That section of the Justice Building was built in 1981.
Last year, the commissioners had a full building assessment done on the county’s buildings.
“At that point, there were no signs or concerns regarding any exterior limestone panels that were on the building, so, obviously, this was a surprise to all of us that something like this would happen,” Groninger said. “With that, we’re making our plans, beginning cleanup here either later this week or the first of next week to try to get the remaining panels that are in that entryway removed safely, and then start to formulate a plan on how we’re going to move forward to make the necessary repairs.”
Out of an abundance of caution, he said the county is following the recommendations of the engineer on the perimeter offices that are in that old part of the building.
“We are removing the people from those offices, as well as fencing off those exterior sidewalks to just ensure that nobody’s injured. At this point, we’re just playing it safe to make sure we’re keeping our employees and the public safe around that structure there. We appreciate everybody’s patience during this time. Understand that it’s inconvenient, whether it’s an entrance that you can’t use or a sidewalk being blocked, but we just want to make sure we keep everybody safe and find a good path forward,” Groninger stated.
To follow up with that, McSherry said they’re now ready to start the cleanup. She recommended Robinson Construction do that work.
“We need to start as soon as possible, so with that recommendation, Robinson would be able to work on a plan to bring the rest of those panels down because we can’t just drop the roof, it would do further damage to the building as well as the stained glass window in the building,” she said.
Once Robinson does the cleanup and formulates a plan to bring the remaining panels down, McSherry said they will be able to see what the rest of the damage is.
Commissioner Bob Conley made the motion to accept McSherry’s recommendation on an emergency basis. Commissioner Sue Ann Mitchell seconded the motion, which passed 2-0. Groninger abstained.
After the meeting, Groninger and McSherry were asked if the reinforcement structure on the building along Main Street near the sheriff’s office was the sole reinforcement structure as a result of the Aug. 29 collapse or if there were others inside the building.
McSherry said no reinforcement structures were put up inside the building.
“That was put up in an abundance of caution, obviously. We’ve moved people away from the windows in the interior,” she said.
Groninger said at this point - where the panels fell - is the only spot in the building where there were multiple panels that were being supported horizontally. They were recessed into the building approximately 10-12 feet, where the rest of them were a single panel and not a double panel.
“It’s only about a 2- or 3-foot deep panel at all the windows, but still, out of an abundance of caution, the engineering firm suggested that we pull people back away from those windows to make sure there’s nothing that could possibly happen. Fence off the perimeter,” Groninger said.
He said there’s no evidence that part of the building is shifting at all or that there’s any settlement.
“Historically, most times if you have those types of settlement things happening, those would happen early in the building and the building is 44 years old. All the foundation, there’s no crack in the foundation - nothing that’s showing any sort of sign of anything like that. At least that we’ve been able to see,” Groninger stated.
While cleanup and repair costs are to be determined, he said they’ve kept the insurance company involved.
“I think where the actual panels fell, that would be something I think we’ll have some insurance coverage on, but if there’s more of a systemic issue that we’ll have to do some repairs around the rest of the perimeter of the building, or at least the old part of the building, that would be something that would be the county’s funds to pay for,” Groninger said.
