The walls have been laid bare in the court assistant's office, after discovering its colonization by carpenter ants. The wall and framing itself has experienced a considerable degree of rot from exposure, and will need to be replaced.
Signage directs visitors to the Public Safety Building to take the stairs, while tools and parts await use to repair its elevator Tuesday morning. A power outage caused by a bird strike last month put the device out of action for about three weeks.
Bad luck came in threes for Wrangell's Public Safety Building last month, the latest in a long line of problems with the facility.
A failing elevator, water damage and a colony of carpenter ants have disrupted activity at the building, home to the city's emergency services, courthouse and Department of Motor Vehicles office.
The first setback, that of the elevator, occurred on August 14.
"As far as the elevator is concerned, we had a power outage," said Amber Al-Haddad, head of Public Works. A bird strike temporarily downed power transmission at the time. "It affected one of the control boards and the door motor, and basically fried them."
For several weeks the elevator remained out of commission. Access to the building's services has been limited as a result, as it is the only means other than stairs to get to the second floor, where the DMV, court and police offices are located.
Police Chief Doug McCloskey explained accommodations have been made during the interim, with paperwork brought to the downstairs lobby when possible. Several people, needing either their picture taken for identification cards or to make court appearances, had to be physically assisted up and down the stairway by emergency medical technicians.
Parts were tracked down – not an easy feat, considering the elevator's manufacturer, Dover Elevators, has been out of business since 1999. The facility still maintains a service agreement through Otis Elevator Company, which sent a technician with the necessary parts on Tuesday.
Al-Haddad said the door's motor and control board will need to be replaced before the lift can be reprogrammed. As it stands, the cost for both the parts and installation nears about $10,000. However, Al-Haddad conceded more repairs may end up being necessary before it works properly, though that won't be known until the reprogramming.
The ant infestation manifested itself in the office of the court assistant on August 28. After spotting a group of ants on the window sill she called Public Works, which is responsible for facilities maintenance, and workers helped her move her desk and supplies out of the office. A subsequent inspection behind the west wall and drop ceiling uncovered a colony of carpenter ants had taken up residence there.
The colony has reportedly been destroyed, but the discovery of mold and significant rot through to the siding had led to the office being sealed up.
"We found that the majority of that wall is rotten," said Al-Haddad.
Constructed in 1985 near the start of Zimovia Highway at its intersection with Bennett Street, over the years water seepage stemming from its roof has undermined walls, windows and other fixtures both inside the building and out. After a full envelope inspection of the building in 2004, the city made a number of fixes to the building's south wall that were completed in 2008.
Further remodeling planned for the courthouse and offices themselves for 2016 were cancelled, with the Alaska Court System citing as one of the reasons failure on the part of the city to properly perform regular maintenance on the leased space. The city proceeded with recarpeting of the offices' and chamber's floorspace, one of the longstanding stipulations of its lease with the state.
As for the troublesome roof itself, together with a new heating system, fire alarms and siding repair, its replacement topped Wrangell's capital projects list for the 2018 fiscal year that began in July. The budgeted amount had been $335,000, though bids that have since been submitted for the project have come in considerably higher.
"All three bids were over-budget," said Al-Haddad. The city has since decided to approach the project differently, and has asked Juneau architects Jensen Yorba Lott to put together a proposal for a full envelope inspection, which has not been undertaken since the last, 13 years ago.
"Given the discovery in this area of the building, we are moving forward procuring that assessment immediately so there is an understanding of the full scope of the problem before a solution is determined," explained Lisa Von Bargen, Wrangell's new city manager. "The assessment will be of the entire building envelope and will include the roof, wall/siding systems, and all perforations," or windows and doors.
"If it is an issue stemming from a roof leak, we want to understand where the problem is," added Al-Haddad. She said it would not make sense to fix the wall, only to have the damage happen again.
As of Tuesday, the city was still awaiting a reply. Al-Haddad has also reached out to ACS regarding the work and how that will affect its operations, as well as whether the disruption will impact the lease agreement. The city will try to accommodate court staff as best as it can during the process, though the uncertain schedule and space readjustment could prove problematic for their work.
Al-Haddad expressed hope the projects will happen soon, depending on what JYL determines. She expected fixes to happen during the current budget cycle.
"We're just working through the parts and pieces, just putting together a plan," she said.
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