Two years since snow damage: County still unsure about future of CETC

Should the damaged CETC building in Colfax be fixed, razed or sold?

That was the question discussed by Whitman County leaders in a workshop session Monday.

Commissioner Michael Largent called the meeting after discussing the future of the building last week with Facilities Manager Bob Reynolds and County Engineer Mark Storey.

“I think the key question we have to answer before we pick a direction is, is the CETC part of the core mission of the county?” Largent asked his fellow commissioners.

A heavy load of ice and snow caused the roof of the CETC to sag in January 2009. A contractor was called in to install temporary supports and the ceiling height in the building was eventually restored. However, the county has closed off public use of the building during the winter months.

The roof is still susceptible to collapse under another heavy load of snow. Commissioners earlier this winter noted a snow removal crew would not be dispatched in the event a load of snow was deposited on the roof.

Opinions varied about the building’s worth to the county relative to its repair costs.

“The CETC was not paying for itself before the damage,” said Largent. “If you continue to use this building, the county - current expense - will have to subsidize it.”

Commissioner Greg Partch and Health Department Director Fran Martin said the building is important to the county’s economic development because of its uses as a meeting room for conferences and training seminars.

“I think it has a definite intrinsic value above and beyond its cost,” said Partch. “Not only for the county or the city, but for the entire community.”

Martin noted the building is used by a county-sponsored program that certifies 12-15 nurses aides four times a year.

“The building’s a loser in terms of money. But for what needs it meets, it definitely is not a loser,” said Martin.

Those classes, including one upcoming in February, are now being conducted at Whitman Hospital. Martin noted the hospital charges for the space, which increases the costs to the health department.

Martin also noted the building has been used for wedding and funeral receptions. Largent, though, questioned if the county should be responsible for providing a place for such occasions.

Traveler’s Insurance, which holds the county’s insurance policy on the building, has said it will cover only about $19,000 of the repair cost. That decision came after they deemed most of the approximately $100,000 in damages was due to a faulty foundation in the rear of the building,

Repair options range from $40,000 worth of weight monitors and roof heating system to a $160,000 estimate for a full repair of the roof with new support beams in the center of the building to remove the center swale on the roof.

“If all you did was re-roof the building, that lake would still be there,” said Storey.

Storey also was unsure if city building codes would allow a quick fix of the roof.

But the high price tag for a full repair makes that option not likely, commissioners said. The county’s current budget crunch has forced 2.61 percent cuts across the board to departments’ 2011 spending plans.

“I don’t think we have $120,000,” said Partch. “So I don’t see the support fix as viable.”

Commissioner Pat O’Neill worried about future damages to the building as its foundation continues to settle. The back portion of the building was constructed on fill dirt believed to have been dredged from the Palouse River.

The CETC building was constructed by the Colfax Elks Lodge in 1972, after the club’s former lodge burned down. When the lodge folded, the building was deeded to a community organization with the hopes it would become a satellite training center for the Community Colleges of Spokane. The building was eventually given to the county by the Port of Whitman.

County leaders also suggested asking Colfax city officials if they would want to share the cost of keeping up the building. The port withdrew its $5,000 annual maintenance contribution several years ago.

Reynolds also noted that, because the CETC is owned by a public agency, the county would eventually have to spend another $35,000 to $65,000 to make the building compliant with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.