No structural damage found after faulty pipe floods Government Center tower

A week after a busted water main flooded upper floors of the Columbus Government Center tower, employees return to work Monday in a building still teeming with city maintenance workers and private cleanup specialists.

Only eight floors in the 11-story building are operating while damage assessments are ongoing for floors nine, 10 and 11 at 100 10th St. The work will force the closure of the employee access indefinitely through the south breezeway on the Ninth Street side of the building, officials said Friday.

Employees must enter the tower, east and west wings through the entrance on the north end of the east and west wings. Beginning at 7:30 a.m. deputies from the Muscogee County Sheriff's Office will be on duty to check badges. Those who show up without proper identification will be directed to enter through the public screening area in the east wing on Second Avenue.

Employees and the public with business inside the tower and other offices should arrive earlier than usual to get to a destination. Parking will be limited for employees in the Ninth Street parking lot because it's used by the sheriff's office for its mobile command center. Employees and the public are encouraged to use the RiverCenter Parking Garage.

There also will be limited use of elevators for employees and visitors. City Manager Isaiah Hugley said the two elevators on the west side of the tower will be available for employees and visitors while city maintenance and ServPro workers use elevators on the east side.

As work continues on the upper floors, a city official said Friday the building may not have any structural damage. "We believe most of the damage to be cosmetic, not structural," said John Hudgison, the city's director of Inspections and Codes . "I don't think our numbers are going to be as big as we thought."

He hopes there will be an estimate on the scope of the work to repair the upper floors by the end of this week and a full report in three weeks. Each floor covers 13,000 square feet but the damage varies on each floor. "Some have floor damage, some wall damage," he said.

Officials first thought the building may need some walls gutted to properly repair the upper floors . "We are not having to build new walls and things like that," Hudgison said. "The turn around time might be a lot shorter. We are trying to get all damage out of the way. Hopefully by this weekend all the damaged material will be out of the building minus the furniture."

Here is a look at the schedule for Monday in the Government Center.

Superior Court

▪ Judge Arthur Smith will hear civil cases in Chattahoochee County. Gil McBride will be in Marion County.

▪ Judge Maureen Gottfried will be in Harris County and Judge Ben Land's jury trial will be held in Smith's court.

▪ Judge Ron Mullins will hold hearings on the plaza level of the Government Center in the old City Council Chambers as follows: 9:30 a.m. domestic hearings; 11 a.m. final adoptions hearings, 11:30 a.m. final step-parent adoption hearings; and 1:30 p.m. temporary protective hearings. Mullins will be located in the sheriff's office mobile command unit on Monday across from the Government Center on Ninth Street to sign temporary protective orders and other court papers.

▪ Municipal Court: Judge Stephen Smith will hold criminal hearings at 9 a.m. in Juvenile Court in the East Wing ground floor of the Government Center.

▪ Juvenile Court: Judge Warner Kennon will hold preliminary hearings and protective hearings in the Juvenile Court at 2 p.m. (Regular scheduled time and place.) Juvenile Family Court Drug Court is canceled Monday.

▪ All jurors who have received subpoenas need to report to the ground floor of the jury room of the Government Center at 9 a.m.

▪ Adult Drug Court graduation will be 10:30 a.m. at Twelve Disciples Church, 3625 Youmans St., in Columbus.

▪ Recorder's Court will run as scheduled.

Residents who need to conduct business at the Government Center may refer to the Consolidated Government's website for the department where you need to conduct business for additional information and updates.

This story was originally published June 23, 2018 at 4:48 PM with the headline "No structural damage found after faulty pipe floods Government Center tower."