Leaking roof closing chamber office

SANDPOINT - The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce will need to find a new location while workers deal with severe water damage at the organization's Fifth Avenue headquarters.

The damage, which is being blamed on a broken pipe and several leaks in the roof caused by an excess of heavy snow, occurred sometime during the chamber's holiday break, according to executive director Amy Little.

Little said an employee stopped into the chamber's office on Dec. 29 and discovered several leaks in the roof. Little hired workers to patch the leaks and remove snow from the roof, but when she arrived at work Wednesday the office was flooded with several inches of standing water.

As she surveyed the damages, Little immediately noticed a large hole in the ceiling with water rushing out onto the floor.

"I really can't complain because this is happening to a lot of people, so it's not just us," Little said. "But it was kind of an interesting experience to walk in and hear Niagara Falls in the back office this morning."

Little won't know exactly how much of the office was damaged until she and her staff thoroughly examine the building's contents, but she said the carpet, ceiling, drywall and several desks might need to be replaced.

Workers hired to repair the leaks indicated the entire roof will need to be replaced, Little said.

Insurance will cover much of the damages, but Little said the chamber will shoulder the burden of replacing the roof. Like many other local businesses and organizations, the chamber is struggling through tough economic times and Little is unsure were funds for the roof will come from.

"This is a wonderful community where everyone always pulls together and I really have faith that it will be taken care of one way or another. It will all fall into place somehow, I think," Little said.

The office is closed for now, and Little is weighing several options for relocation until the end of winter.

The chamber was not alone in dealing with floods caused by the rain and a sudden rise in temperature. Public Works Director Kody Van Dyk said his plow crew spent much of Wednesday attempting to halt flooding by removing debris from clogged drains throughout the city. By early afternoon, Van Dyk said the vast majority of city drains were clear with no reports of major flooding.

The crews also plowed city streets and will begin removing snow berms on arterial roads today.

An urban and small stream flood advisory for rain and melting snow in Bonner, Boundary, Stevens, Pend Oreille and Shoshone counties is in effect until 3 p.m. today.