Closing of Town Hall Due to Excessive Water Damage
Yesterday morning the fire alarms went off and it appeared that one of the sprinkler heads activated. The building inspector discovered the situation and the Fire Department was in route. We believe that our dry system somehow took on water which got into the pipe, then froze and expanded causing the sprinkler head to burst. The head was located in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room on the second floor of town hall. Because the sprinkler head failed water collected on top of the existing ceiling and spread through fixtures, the HVAC system, down walls and all the way down to the basement.
At this time we are working with our insurance adjuster, have Service Master on site along with our HVAC contractor, electrician, IT network provider, elevator contractor, and security company. The rooms affected on the second floor are the Selectboard meeting room, cable broadcasting room, bathrooms and kitchen. The first floor rooms include accounting, tax office, foyer, bathroom, two small board support staff offices and the copy machine room. The basement area directly below those areas also sustained damage amd the elevator car was filled with water.
We have relocated our Tax Office to the 1st floor Board Meeting Room and the Accounting Office is now operating in the first floor conference room. We are working with our IT staff to install computers and telephones for both those areas.
Service Master has installed fans and heating units on all levels in those areas affect. I am being told that it is going to take a week or two for things to settle down so we can begin work on reconstructing those areas. We do not yet have an estimate on the damage or how long I will take to get us back together. We are hopeful that by the end of the day today, all computers and telephone will be up and running. This will require all meetings of town boards and committees to be held on our Zoom platform.
I would encourage our residents to make use of the two drop boxes here at town hall. They are being checked throughout the day.
I am grateful that no town hall staff was injured. We have a great team and everyone is stepping up to assist those offices who were impacted. For the safety of everyone, employees and residences, town hall will remain close until the repairs are satisfactorily completed. I thank you for your patience and support at this challenging time.
Best regards,
Nancy Lucier, Town Administrator