JAMESTOWN – An insurance company is in the process of reimbursing the James River Valley Library System for the water damage from a burst pipe in December but an insurance settlement has not been completed yet, according to Joe Rector, library system director.

He said the library system paid Steam Brothers more than $11,000 to clean the carpets, removing ceiling tile and bringing in dehumidifiers and fans to remove moisture from the building. He also said work some plumbing and other work were also done as a result of the water damage in December.

Rector told James River Valley Library System Board of Directors on Wednesday, April 12, that an insurance representative from the North Dakota Insurance Reserve Fund has not been able to contact the insurance adjuster who inspected the damage at Alfred Dickey.

Alfred Dickey was closed temporarily in December after a burst pipe from a staff restroom caused water damage in the library. The children’s library in the basement of Alfred Dickey had about an inch of water and about a quarter-inch of water was discovered around the circulation desk on the main level. The burst pipe happened sometime during a winter storm in December when the library was closed.

“We don’t have any closed spaces because of this incident, so everything is open,” Rector said. “We just have some unsightly places (ceiling tiles down and some uneven floors from moisture). … There’s no mold or mildew or anything that I’m aware of and so I’m really happy how we’ve come out of this and now it just comes down to they either need to hear from this adjuster or send another one.”

Rector said he spoke to the insurance representative about getting reimbursed $20 per book.

“I was able to send him documentation, showing that the average original cost for these books was $15 each. However some of those are way too low to try to replace what we actually lost.”

Rector said after the meeting that the library board would need to settle with the insurance company on the amount that will be reimbursed per book. Rector said in January that over 500 children’s hardcover books were lost due to water damage.

In other business, Rector told the library board that the roof of Stutsman County Library was leaking water.

Rector said a new roof was installed in 2016 on the Stutsman County Library. He said ice dams caused water to get underneath the roof and leak into the library.

He said there was no actual damage in the building other than some ceiling tiles getting ruined. He also said DVD cases got wet but the actual DVDs were not in the cases.

Fans are running in the county library to keep the carpet dry. Rector said Stutsman County staff, which arranged the company to install the roof, will go back to the same company to see if the roof can be repaired.

He said water has stopped leaking into the county library.

The library board also unanimously approved a bid for more than $34,000 for repairing mortar joints between the bricks on the Alfred Dickey Public Library building.

Tritschler Masonry in Jamestown was the only bid that the library system received.

The work involves tuck-pointing the top 2 feet of all walls including the back side of the building on the roof, stoops, front entrance and decorative masonry. The company will also repair other problem areas where the mortar joints are not in good condition.

Masaki Ova joined The Jamestown Sun in August 2021 as a reporter. He grew up on a farm near Pingree, N.D. He majored in communications at the University of Jamestown, N.D.