County manager outlines restoration timeline after flooding at Pueblo County historic courthouse

Pueblo County Manager Gina Geneseo told the Board of County Commissioners Aug. 12 that remediation work is underway at the historic Pueblo County courthouse after a flood, with staff relocations, air testing and document-restoration efforts in progress and full restoration expected by about Sept. 15.

Why it matters: The courthouse houses multiple county offices. Flood damage affected the assessor’s mapping office on the second floor, the treasurer’s office and parts of the ground floor; repairs and restoration affect public services and county records.

Geneseo said Servpro, the county’s contracted remediation firm, has performed intermittent extraction and drying work since the incident and that dehumidifiers remain in the building. “We anticipate that they will be removed by the end of the week,” Geneseo said. She said county staff conducted air-quality testing on all floors and that she expects a report back on Friday.

Geneseo said the insurance adjuster was scheduled to inspect the damaged areas alongside Servpro and that the county has reached out to a company that specializes in restoring older documents because some assessor books received water damage.

Staff who worked in affected individual workspaces have been relocated temporarily, Geneseo said, and county facilities personnel continue to remove damaged ceiling tiles, carpeting and other debris.

When asked about cost, Geneseo said she would confirm specifics with the county’s insurer and would not provide a definitive deductible figure in the meeting. “I will confirm that,” she said when asked about the county’s deductible for the event.

Geneseo said she was not aware of any structural damage resulting from the incident. “As far as structural damage, I am not aware that this had any impact on the structural damage,” she said, and added that earlier, unrelated ground movement that left visible cracking had been monitored by engineers and that the county is pursuing historic-preservation grants to address cosmetic repairs.

Geneseo said she anticipates a full remediation report from Servpro or in combination with the insurance agency when work is complete. In separate remarks she thanked facilities staff for cleaning graffiti from the courthouse columns after a vandalism incident overnight.

What’s next: County staff expect drying and cleanup to conclude in the coming weeks, to receive an air-quality report the week following the meeting, and to present a full remediation report when final inspections and insurance adjustments are complete.