A pipe burst Monday and caused an estimated $60,000 in flooding damage to an unoccupied building at Tuolumne Countyâs future navigation center for homeless services on Rafferty Court in Soulsbyville.
At a public meeting Tuesday, the county Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 to approve emergency actions to repair the damage and authorize County Administrator to order the work without giving notice for contractors to bid on the project.
Maureen Frank, director of the county General Services Agency, said the plumbing failure flooded about one-third of what will be the Unit B building with water 3 inches deep.
Insurance will cover the costs of repairs and restoration, Frank said.
âWe had a toilet supply line that blew out,â Frank said. âNot only did it totally break, it put an 18-by-18-inch hole in the wall.â
âIt just broke,â Frank said of the plumbing failure, which apparently occurred overnight or early Monday. An alarm went off and firefighters responded around 8:15 a.m. Monday.
âThis is what happens when buildings are vacant and not used,â Frank said before presenting an emergency measure to the board. âSomething happened. Water pressure built up and it leaked.â
The plumbing failure resulted in water damage to linoleum flooring in a kitchen area, a pantry, a section of hallway and bathrooms, and a laundry room; seven carpeted bedrooms with baseboards; and drywall in multiple rooms, Frank said.
Damaged flooring, carpeting and baseboards will have to be removed.
âDrywall, we have to really watch that, get that dried out,â Frank said. âTheyâre doing some moisture-testing on it, yesterday and today, to see how far up we have to cut the drywall out and replace it.â
Repurposed dressers may be salvageable, Frank said.
Cleaning up water damage is vital in any building because unwanted water and moisture in flooring and walls can lead to potential for molds that can produce allergens, irritants, and in some cases, toxic substances, Frank said.
âWith water damage, you need to get in and get it corrected,â Frank said. âWe have signed a contract just for the emergency work, nothing else. We are working with the adjuster. The insurance company is coming up tomorrow. Right now all weâre doing is the emergency work.â
Restoration work will come later. How much that will cost was not addressed Tuesday.
Tuolumne County Homeless Services are preparing to open the center, which will occupy two buildings that used to be the Oak Terrace Memory Care facility at 20420 Rafferty Court. The county purchased the property last year for $2 million.Â
The county intends to offer screened homeless individuals transitional housing and other services at the location.
Some county staff moved into Unit A a month-and-a-half ago, county Health and Human Services Director Annie Hockett said. Plans to open Unit A, perhaps later this month, will not be affected by the water damage in Unit B.Â
Hockett said Unit A will open for families and women first, while Unit B will be for men when it opens.
âOur staff are up there (at Unit A),â Hockett said. âWe are talking to families that are ready to make that transition in. Hopefully, as soon as we get an employment piece finalized, we can open the doors.â
County Administrator Tracie Riggs said county staff are finalizing an employment verification process for Unit A.
Delays to opening Unit B will depend in part on the insurance company, Frank said.Â
âWe are acting as fast as we can with this, trying to mitigate and make sure that thereâs not any further damage,â Frank said. âMy guess is itâs going to take a week or two to do all the cleanup, to remove any of the flooring, the baseboards, the drywall, dry out the facility, and once the insurance company comes in and says, yes, weâre OK to proceed to the next phase, then we will go out and solicit for the repairs of the facility.â
It could be two to three weeks or a month before Unit B is back to where it was before the plumbing failure, Frank said.
There was also a burglary June 7 at one of the centerâs buildings. Two people described by authorities as transients were caught on camera taking bags of toilet paper from one of the buildings, and they were later arrested on felony burglary charges.
