The Midland County Courthouse reopened for staff only today. The lowest level of the historic building was submerged in about 18 inches of flood water last week, leaving behind moderate damage.
No official records or court documents were harmed but the courthouse elevators were knocked-out by the flood and have to be replaced. Chief Judge Steve Carras said replacing the elevators will take a few months.
District Court will be able to resume and operate normally. However, without functioning elevators, there can be no public access to Probate or Circuit Court levels of the courthouse.
County staff are creating temporary courtrooms across the street in the United Way building. The temporary facilities are being used for jury trials and hearings that require in-person attendance.
Carras expects it will take about a month to set up the temporary courtrooms. He said while the temporary facilities won’t look like courtrooms, they will be practical.
In the meantime, court sessions will be conducted over Zoom or adjourned to a later date.
“Because of the COVID-19, the supreme court issued directives in March requiring all the courts across the state to severely limit or eliminate all non-essential hearings or do everything you can do by video,” Carras said. “They specified Zoom so that’s what we’re all using.”
Check the Midland County Court Calendar for the latest updates on rescheduled court dates.
The dirt berm behind the courthouse worked to defend against the 2017 floods. However, it wasn’t enough after the Sanford dam failed. Facilities Manager Kevin Beeson said teams were attempting to reinforce the berm while the lower level filled with water.
“Had the dam not broken we might have made it,” Beeson said. “The water was rushing through that parking lot, under the new M-20 bridge. Between the force and height of the water, there wasn’t going to be enough dirt to hold it.”
Besides the broken elevators the courthouse temporarily lost power and the air handler system went underwater. SERVPRO, a restoration company, was recruited to dry the ground floor facilities. Both the power and air handler are back online.
Beeson said the county doesn’t have a repair cost estimate yet but said he is expecting the numbers next week.
“There’s a symbolic element to (the courts remaining open), there’s still law and order, we’re still a community, the courts are here to handle disputes,” Carras said. “It’s important that we’re here so people know it’s not the wild west.”
This story was produced as part of the Michigan News Group internship program...a collaboration between WCMU and local newspapers. You can see the print edition of his story in the Friday edition of the Midland Daily News
