Chino Hills council declares emergency, authorizes expedited City Hall repairs after June fire

The Chino Hills City Council on July 8 adopted a resolution finding an emergency at City Hall and authorized the city manager to negotiate and execute contracts to remediate and rebuild portions of the building after an equipment fire and resulting water damage.

City Manager Ben said the incident began June 23 when “an isolated equipment fire ... at one of the workstations on the second floor” caused sprinklers to activate and led to water damage across multiple floors. The building was closed to the public until June 30 and staff have been operating from temporary trailers and relocated workstations while remediation and restoration proceed.

The resolution makes a Public Contracts Code exemption available so the city can move quickly without a competitive bid process. Ben told the council the city is working with the California Joint Powers Insurance Agency (CJPIA), its insurers and claim adjusters, and specialized contractors. “Our goal is to restore City Hall to functionality as quickly as possible,” he said.

Council members and staff described the scale of the damage and the cleanup already completed. City officials said contractors began tear-out and remediation within days; council members described seeing ceiling tiles, drywall and carpeting removed and said crews were working in multiple locations to find and stop hidden water intrusion. Servpro was identified repeatedly as the primary remediation contractor on site.

Officials gave a preliminary cost and timeline estimate: remediation (the initial water-stop and tear-out work) was roughly $1.5 million, and the combined remediation and reconstruction could reach about $4.0 million, though Ben said the estimate “changes three times a day.” Council and staff said CJPIA will cover the majority of costs and the city will be responsible for its deductible. The council was told the window to return to normal operations is roughly two to six months, with staff pushing aggressively toward the shorter end of that range.

Council members stressed oversight would continue despite the emergency contracting authority. Mayor Bennett said the insurance JPA “will be over looking everything that we do” and that the city would not have a free hand to hire without oversight. The council also discussed health risks from standing water and mold and the importance of replacing damaged drywall and electrical equipment to protect staff safety.

The council voted to adopt the emergency resolution and give the city manager authority to negotiate and execute necessary agreements for remediation and reconstruction. The motion passed 4-0. Council members said the city will return to council with updates as work proceeds.

The mayor and staff also noted that some services are already operating from temporary facilities; passport and other in-person services are being handled in the council chambers and a temporary customer service center has been set up in the City Hall lobby. The city’s information technology team relocated workstations for roughly 72 city employees, and community services programs have continued at alternate sites.