RICHMOND, Ky. (LEX 18) — For Madison County District Court Judge Earl Ray Neal, there was a feeling of loss as he surveyed the damage.
“I’m starting my fifth term and I’ve spent a vast majority of my career in this courthouse and it’s something that is very special to me,” Judge Neal said.
Neal was one of several people who received a call on Christmas Day that a pipe had burst in the ceiling above the first floor of the Hall of Justice building on Main Street in Richmond. The water crashed through ceiling tiles, as did the busted pipe itself, and the water made its way into the basement where decades of court documents are stored.
“We (district court) touch almost everything that goes through the court system, whether it be the first stop for a felony case, civil cases, landlord/tenant, mental health, disability and things of that nature,” Hon. Neal explained.
Judge Neal said the process of backing up these documents to a computer was underway, but far from complete, so he knows Clerk David Fernandez and his staff will have an enormous task ahead. So will water restoration specialists, along with the contractors who are eventually hired to rehab this building. Everything from drywall to flooring, to ceiling tiles and electric work will be needed here.
“I don’t want to say it’s a catastrophe because we’ve had a lot of those in Kentucky recently, but it’s bad,” Judge Neal said.
Neal said it’s likely all court proceedings will have to be done virtually as they were during the pandemic, and no one is certain for how long that will last. SERVPRO, the well-known water restoration company was on scene, and one of their representatives said the drying and cleaning process is likely to take at least one week.
