WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Recent storms in Williamsport have left City Hall a mess. The damage was caused by heavy amounts of rain seeping through the roof of the building.
"We have some mold issues. There is an odor now in City Hall, and just the general conditions of the building, the walls are melting, literally melting, due to the water damage," said Mayor Derek Slaughter.
A third of City Hall's roofing was repaired about three years ago. However, off-camera, some city workers say previous administrations and councils elected to patch up the building's issues instead of making full repairs to the building.
"We're losing roof slates because this is a very old roof and has a slate roof. So, as they deteriorate, fragments are getting into the interior storm laterals and plugging them," said Keith Segraves, the city's maintenance foreman.
City officials tell Newswatch 16 that a company will be coming in later this week to check out the mold and to test the air quality in the building. Depending on the results, City Hall may have to be temporarily moved.
"We have some plans in place, but they are not solidified, so I don't want to speak publicly on those yet, but yes, we are actively working right now to relocate all of our offices in City Hall to other city-owned properties, including the police station," said Mayor Slaughter.
Not only did they find mold on all three floors of City Hall, maintenance workers told Newswatch 16 that they also found asbestos on some of the pipes in the walls.
Building damage from the storms can even be seen in the basement where the police department operates.
Segraves thinks there are only two real options on the table for the future of City Hall.
"Now it is time to either address the issues, or if the money cost is too great, then obviously maybe it is time to move. It is a beautiful structure, but there is a reason we don't build buildings like this anymore because of the maintenance issues that come from these things," said Segraves.
The city was also in the process of making the building ADA-compliant. Mayor Slaughter told us that the work being done to the outside of the building will still be continued even if they have to move somewhere else for a temporary period of time.