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Grand Forks County facilities director reports courthouse basement flooded, costs still being tallied
Summary
Facilities director Bill Grisevski told commissioners a Feb. 2 basement flood left water up to 46 inches in the courthouse boiler-room tunnel; mitigation work is underway, hundreds of staff hours have been logged and invoices are still arriving as the county pursues insurance and considers emergency-fund use.
The Grand Forks County director of facilities reported that on Feb. 2 crews discovered basement flooding in the courthouse, measuring approximately 46 inches at its peak in a boiler-room tunnel connecting the courthouse and annex.
"On February 2, we discovered the basement flooded with water with 46 inches of water was the actual depth, at 6AM," said Bill Grisevski, who described a frozen water main as the likely cause and detailed corrective steps taken to reroute water and dry the space. He said water and sewer lines in an adjacent vacant building had been disconnected earlier, but the boiler-room feed remained active.
Grisevski said relatively few contractor invoices have arrived; his department has logged about 190 hours on recovery tasks and the county has an active insurance claim. He estimated the county was "probably pushing $30" (thousand) so far but said final costs could take two to three months to compile as invoices arrive.
Commissioners emphasized careful tracking. One commissioner urged, "Make sure every department tracks every penny we spend so that we can file a very detailed claim" with the insurer. County staff said the emergency fund has been used previously for building emergencies; counsel has advised a commission declaration would be required only if federal funds were mixed with county money.
County leaders asked staff to continue documenting labor and contractor costs, retain photographs provided to county legal staff, and report back as insurance adjustments and invoices are settled.
