Burst pipe causes damage, office relocation in Charlton Town Hall

Burst pipe causes damage, office relocation in Charlton Town Hall
By Debbie LaPlaca CORRESPONDENT
CHARLTON — A burst water pipe in the attic of Town Hall has damaged the structure and contents of three offices that officials were relocating Saturday to open in temporary quarters Monday.

“There is water everywhere,” Town Administrator Robin L. Craver said from her office Saturday morning.

A water pipe burst in the attic over the town clerk's office sometime between the close of town offices Thursday evening and the building custodian's discovery about 7:30 a.m. Saturday. Town Hall is normally closed on Fridays.

The water, Ms. Craver said, cascaded into the clerk's office and continued through the floor into two Council on Aging offices on the building's lower level.
 
Computers, furniture, paperwork and files were damaged along with the ceilings, walls and floors in that section of the building.

“The pipe burst from freezing,” Ms. Craver said. “We are a casualty of extreme weather.”

A service company had worked on removing ice dams from the roof on Friday. When the company returned Saturday to finish the job, custodian Sharon Carlson went in to assist. She entered the building and heard water dripping.

“We were very lucky that she had to go into her office for something and found the water, otherwise it could have run until we opened Monday morning,” Ms. Craver said.

As of late Saturday morning, the town's insurance company had dispatched a water damage restoration service. Four Highway Department employees were called in to help move equipment and files out of harm's way and to relocate the three affected offices.

Ms. Craver said the town clerk's office would be moved into the selectmen's meeting room and the Council on Aging offices would relocate to the employee lunchroom.

“We should have a seamless transition with no interruption of services,” Ms. Craver said. “We need to make sure the ceilings are structurally safe before anyone goes back into their office.”

It was too soon to say if phones would be fully functional in the temporary locations, so for now, Ms. Craver said, callers unable to reach their party may call the selectmen's office at (508) 248-2206.