Annex floods delay Office of Public Defense move; county installs new secure access door and plans remediation

Public Services Manager Savannah Clement told the board the annex building experienced two separate flooding incidents that damaged space intended for the Office of Public Defense (OPD). The county added a secure exterior door to provide direct access to a general office lobby and is working with a remediation contractor to remove damaged materials and restore walls and finishes.

“We had 2 flooding incidents at the annex building that were separated by a couple of weeks,” Clement said. She described the first event as related to temporary drains installed by a roofing contractor and the second as caused by drain work installed incorrectly by a subcontractor. Risk management and remediation processes are in progress; Clement said both claims are being handled in coordination with the roofing contractor's insurance and the county's risk manager. She estimated remediation timelines of roughly 14 to 18 weeks and said that staff now expect OPD to move from River Suites into county space in the second quarter once remediation is complete.

Clement said the county had already received board direction to relocate OPD from leased space (River Suites) into county-owned facilities to save rent and better configure space for OPD's needs. The added door is “step 1” to provide secure public access; the county will add walls, cubicles and other upfits once remediation is finished. Clement said the move will save an estimated $50,000 by avoiding construction of new offices.

Nut graf: The county is proceeding with remediation and short-term adaptations (secure door and reconfiguration) so OPD can occupy county-owned space once repairs finish; remediation is being handled under contractor insurance and county risk-management processes.

Ending: Staff will continue remediation and report timelines; OPD's move remains planned but delayed until repairs and upfits are complete.