(La Porte, IN) - The La Porte County government complex might be upgraded while repairs are being made to extensive flood damage caused by a frozen water line bursting at Christmas.

 

A new fire alarm system, replacing corroded galvanized water pipes and improvements to heating, cooling and ventilation of the 1970’s structure were identified as needs during a Monday workshop between members of the county council and county commissioners.

 

Officials said the upgrades would add roughly three million dollars to the cost of all the repairs now estimated at $15 million or more.

 

However, officials said it makes financial sense to perform the upgrades now since those areas are exposed and easy to reach from water logged drywall being removed from the frames of the walls.

 

Waiting to upgrade the original parts of the building until sometime after the new drywall goes up would noticeably increase the cost of the improvements from having to tear back into the walls, officials said.

 

Commissioner Connie Gramarossa said the cost of all of the repairs, except for a $25,000 deductible, are covered under the county’s insurance policy. There is some question how much of the tab the insurance company would be willing to pay for the upgrades since they were not damaged by the flood.

 

Gramarossa believes most, if not, all of the cost of the improvements would likely be covered, but waiting for the insurance company to decide payment before doing the upgrades could delay completion of the building restoration.

 

The La Porte County Council will be asked to approve the funds to perform the upgrades before the new drywall goes up. The claims would be submitted later to the insurance company for possible reimbursement.

 

“This would give us the ability to just go ahead and move the project forward,” she said.

 

Councilman Randy Novak said doing the upgrades now would also bring almost everything about the structure into compliance with current codes without delaying the project and spending more money to do it later.

 

For example, Novak said the current fire alarm system is outdated but a new one with better smoke detection abilities would take six to eight weeks to design before installation.

 

“This projected cost is just a fraction of what it would cost if we had to do it after we put the building back together,” he said.

 

Extensive damage was also done to electrical wiring inside conduits that filled up with water running down from the busted line on fifth floor.

 

Gramarossa said most of the water damage was on the third and fourth floors occupied by the health department and prosecutor’s office, which were among the eight departments relocated until the work is finished.

 

The damage was extensive because the water line burst while the complex was empty for the extended Christmas break.  It would have been worse had a maintenance worker not performed a routine check of the structure before it was scheduled to reopen.

 

Gramarossa said all of the work is expected to be completed before the end of the year.