By Krista Duhon
news@joplinglobe.com
FAIRLAND, Okla. — As much as 6 inches of rain on parts of Northeast Oklahoma was too much for the municipal offices of one Ottawa County town.
Late Thursday, rain-soaked tiles of the dropped-ceiling gave way in Fairland City Hall and the town’s police station, leaving a mess for city employees to deal with Friday morning.
Mayor Andy Krebs on Friday morning authorized Rockin G Roofing Systems to make emergency repairs and/or replacement of the roof.
Krebs said it was not known whether the roofing issue is solely a surface issue or if there are structural problems.
“They are going to get up there tomorrow and do some assessments,” Krebs said. “We will know more later.”
Roofers are expected to begin repairs today, weather permitting.
City Clerk Karen Lunsford said she and Assistant City Clerk Deborah Brodrick knew that the roof was leaking when they left work Thursday afternoon.
“We could hear the water dripping above the dropped ceiling,” Lunsford said.
Before leaving the office at 4 p.m., Lunsford and Brodrick covered the city’s electronics, file cabinets and exposed documents with plastic. The women also saw that large plastic receptacles were strategically placed to capture the drips.
Lunsford and her husband returned to the office during the night to empty the collected water and found water rapidly falling into the city’s storage room.
“It was raining in here, just pouring through the ceiling,” Lunsford said.
By morning, ceiling tiles had fallen in the clerk’s office, the city treasurer’s office and the evidence room and storage closet in the police station, which is separated from the clerk’s office by an interior wall.
Assistant Police Chief Tony Wiseley said he arrived at the police station to find water rushing from beneath the door of the evidence room.
“We began to mop and vacuum water as quickly as we could,” Wisely said.
Nothing was damaged, according to Wiseley, who said that the evidence was either on shelves or sealed in protective tubs.
Council session
The City Council will meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday to discuss what might have to be undertaken to repair or replace the roof on the City Hall building.
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Water-soaked ceiling tiles fall at Fairland City Hall, station
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