Ukiah Daily Journal Staff
Updated: 06/23/2010 12:00:28 AM PDT
Panel recommends a complete re-engineering' of building
The Daily Journal
Staff at the Willits Police Department work next to buckets of water and electronic equipment covered with plastic sheets as repairs to a leaky roof remain unsuccessful, the Mendocino County grand jury reported Monday.
In a report titled "Working in the rain, a public facility at risk," the GJ states that it visited the WPD, located on the first floor of the Willits Justice Center, which it rents from the county, on Feb. 2.
During the visit, GJ members noticed "several buckets half full of water, electronic equipment covered with plastic sheeting," and stucco siding on the outside of the building that was "buckling and delaminating."
According to the GJ, the roof of the building has leaked since it was first occupied in 1988, and repeated attempts to repair it by Mendocino County General Services (MCGS) have been unsuccessful.
"The roof still leaks, and rainwater continues to intrude into the structure of the building," the report states, explaining that the water buckets, potential for mold and dry rot and deteriorating stucco created a safety hazard for workers. In addition, the plastic sheeting hampered work productivity.
"The GJ is concerned with health and safety issues when employees work in an unsafe environment," the report states. "The Willits Justice Center is in need of a considerable amount of repair, (and) a complete re-engineering is needed."
The GJ recommends that, "in accordance with the lease agreement, the MCGS make all necessary repairs to the building ... and consult with an outside engineer to inspect for structural damage."
In a finding unrelated to the condition of the building, the GJ also noted that the recent closure of the Willits branch of the county Superior Court has had a negative impact on the WPD.
"WPD officers who must appear in court now travel to Ukiah or Fort Bragg, (often) creating overtime cost," and, since multiple officers can be called to testify for the same case, the WPD is left under-staffed at these occasions," the report states. "Officers' time was better-utilized when subpoenaed to the Willits Superior Court."
http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_15356403
3 comments:
Its hard to find the quality information, but you have done a nice job, for sharing the quality information.
Oh, no! The leaky roof should have been fixed long time ago. It is indeed hazardous to all of the employees' health especially if molds build up. When I initially neglected to fix a small leak in our roof, it had gotten so worse than molds began to build up in the ceiling. My children became allergic so I immediately contacted a reputable roofing Boston contractor to fix the damaged roof. The old gutter was severely clogged and damaged so I decided to replace it with new, well-protected gutters (Boston homeowners preferred). Anyway, I hope the police department will soon fix the problem before it causes harm.
Buckets of water near electronic equipment = impending chaos.
It's a good thing that a major re-engineering was recommended for that building, or else they may have faced a bigger problem if the water spilled on their equipment.
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