Rainwater has seeped into the building that houses the Kansas Supreme Court, causing extensive damage and forcing some employees to temporarily relocate.
The Kansas Judicial Center’s leaking roof, which was in the process of being fixed, was inundated by heavy rains on Sept. 13 according to the Topeka Capital-Journal.
Appellate court spokeswoman Lisa Taylor says the most significant water damage occurred on the third and second floors. The Office of the Judicial Administration, which is housed on the third floor, was also damaged.
Taylor said the building had some leaking prior to the flooding, and the project to reroof the center had begun this past summer.
Fifty people — including all seven justices, five of 14 court of appeals judges, their staffs and other court employees — were moved from their offices to other spaces in the building. A judge may share office space meant for one person with a research attorney and a judicial assistant.
“You can’t close government,” Taylor said. “We still need to do the work that we’re here to do. It’s stressful.”
Taylor says the total cost of the damage is unknown. State department of administration spokesman John Milburn said there is no firm timeline to complete the cleanup and repairs. The Kansas Department of Administration is responsible for care of the building.
Milburn said that the insurance representing the contractor in charge of the roof replacement work will pay for the damage.
“It’s going to take some time,” Milburn said, adding that the timeline may stretch to the rest of the calendar year.
Topics Kansas Contractors
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