Lake Station City Hall is closed through Tuesday after officials said a pipe in the fire sprinkler system burst and caused flooding and water damage throughout most of the building.
On Monday, commercial cleanup crews with large vacuum trucks pumped out the water and began remediating the damage.
Mayor Bill Carroll couldn’t be reached for comment, but he said in a social media post that the damage spanned most of the building except for the Police Department on the west side.
Clerk-Treasurer Brenda Samuels said public meetings were canceled until further notice, including Thursday’s city council meeting and Monday’s sewage and storm district meetings.
Carroll said an update on the status of the building would be made Tuesday.
Samuels said Carroll told her about the flooding Saturday as crews sought access to her office to shut down electrical service.
Apparently, she said the pipe broke on the building’s top floor above the mayor’s office and collapsed the ceiling tile.
“I was there Saturday walking in inch-deep water getting rained on,” Samuels said. Her office computers that handle payroll and other data were shut down.
By Sunday, she said cleanup crews had removed most of the water.
With the power off, Samuels said her clerks can’t access computers, even remotely. She’s hoping the modems can be moved into the Police Department, which remained with power.
“We still need to operate. We need to be open, you have payroll,” she said. “Thank goodness this isn’t a payroll week.”
Meanwhile, Carroll said sewer and trash bill payments can be made online through the city’s website or bills can be dropped off into the red dropbox in the City Hall parking lot. Late fees won’t be charged this month, he said.
Trash pickup will continue on its normal schedule.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
