A burst water pipe in the attic of Langford City Hall rained water down into the city’s main reception area and took out its administration, financial and planning departments on Wednesday night.
It was a chaotic scene on Thursday as the city had to close the building and scramble to continue to serve its residents during one of the busiest days of the year: tax time.
Dozens of people expecting to pay their property taxes in person were met by a tent at the entrance to city hall with staff directing them to a secure drop box, local banks and online payment systems.
The media wasn’t allowed inside, but Mayor Scott Goodmanson said the damage was extensive. Ceiling tiles and paper debris littered the soaked floors and lines of computers were being dried out and tested to see if they still worked. Service crews worked around the clock to mop up water and set up dehumidifiers.
The broken pipe was part of the building’s fire suppression sprinkler system. The break triggered an alarm to Langford Fire Rescue, which responded about 5 p.m. The water started spilling into a private office on the third floor and then down to the second floor, where city hall conducts most of its business.
City hall is in a strata building with other businesses. Langford owns several sections of the 877 Goldstream Ave. property, including parts of the ground floor and the third, where council chambers are located. The chambers were not hit as hard with water damage and future council meetings are not expected to be affected.
When asked how much water came down on Langford’s main office area, Goodmanson said it hasn’t been determined.
“I can tell you [firefighters] had a hard time pushing the door open on the unit [below the pipe break],” Goodmanson said. “It was a good amount of water, enough that when they did get the door open, they had to remove one of the toilets on the third floor so that water could wash down an open drain. And then water continued to pour down for hours to the second floor and then down to the first floor.”
The cause of the break is under investigation. The cost of repairing the damage hasn’t been determined.
Several other businesses in the building continued to operate. A dentist’s office on the ground floor was open with minimal leakage reported. But others had “closed” signs on the doors.
Goodmanson said the city was setting up a temporary area at the rear of the building to provide service to residents. The space was being prepared for West Shore RCMP while the new police building gets underway, but those plans are being delayed until damage at city hall is repaired.
The reception area will open at 9 a.m. today for people to pay their property taxes in person. It is accessible on the left side of the building on the ground floor.
The city is finalizing arrangements for front-counter access to all city departments as early as next week.
Goodmanson said it’s important that residents know that city departments are still operating. “Despite city hall being closed for in-person service, staff across most departments continue to serve the public as they would on any given day,” he said. “The city is still running.”
Several departments were unaffected, and some staff are working from home or holding meetings offsite, he said. “It’s primarily administration, finance and planning which are severely affected” and where damage is significant.
Goodmanson said the temporary closure does not affect the property tax deadline of July 2, which leaves residents only a few days to pay what they owe before penalties kick in.
An extension under the current situation can’t be granted by the city because it’s a provincial decision, the mayor said.
That was a huge disappointment for Patricia Cuthbert, who showed up at city hall Thursday morning to pay her taxes before the end of the June and get a receipt to show her bank in order to renew her mortgage.
Her tax notice had been displaced, so she was at city hall to pay and get a copy for her bank, but was told all the platforms were down. Staff could only tell Cuthbert to email the city, with the hopes a remote worker could accommodate her request. Cuthbert left disappointed.
Residents were being advised to check the city’s website at langford.ca and Facebook page at facebook.com/CityofLangford for further updates.
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