The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON - In a special Monday meeting this week, the Columbia County Board of Commissioners approved a measure to allow emer­gency repairs to the ceiling and carpet in the courtroom of the Columbia County Courthouse, after accidental damage caused by a con­tractor. The measure allows courthouse Maintenance Supervisor Dave Finney to hire a local contractor for the repairs without going through the normal bidding process.

In January, a worker with Pringles Power Vac of Walla Walla was cleaning duct­work on the courthouse roof when he accidently dropped a large wrench into a duct. It hit a coolant line and broke it. The resulting leakage caused buckling in the plas­ter ceiling near the center of the courtroom and also damaged the carpet directly below.

Finney told the commis­sioners during their regular meeting last week that the potential for falling plaster could be a major safety hazard in the courtroom. On Monday he told the com­missioners he has lined up a local contractor to remove the loose plaster on Wednes­day. The ceiling will be repaired and the carpet in the courtroom replaced during a week in March when the courtroom is not scheduled for use.

Finney said that if he had to go through normal bid­ding to hire a contractor, it could be weeks or months before work could be started.

Commissioner Chuck Reeves, who called into the meeting by phone, said that Pringles' insurance car­rier would be responsible to cover the cost for the re­pairs. The county will not be responsible for any cost, he said.

Finney said that the coun­ty's insurance company was contacted and will be involved in negotiations with Pringles' carrier to establish a final settlement. "There was some discussion about depreciation of the carpet," he told the commissioners. "They are in a much better position to negotiate that."