Water seeping into the Parker Library as a result of a construction project made the carpeted floor look like it was covered by glass. (Kay Bowman/Parker Library)
PARKER – The president of the Parker Library on Tuesday said that an unexpected rain that left water pooled on the concrete floor of the library's expansion project was an ill-timed event that no one could have foreseen. Jason Webber, board president, said that because it was an act of nature, the contractor on the project was not to blame.
The library, also known as Linn County Library District No. 1, is in the middle of a building project that will double the size of the current 40-foot-by-40-foot building.
Last week on Feb. 8, the light snow shower forecasted turned into a rainstorm that dumped an inch or more of rain on the Parker area followed by a light accumulation of wet, heavy snow.
Rockin' H Construction of Pleasanton had just begun installing the metal siding over the wood frame construction before the storm. The siding and roofing had just arrived on site, according to Webber.
The building was framed in on a concrete slab with a door roughed in, but there was no roof on the building when the rain came. Despite an opening below the newly installed door, the water on the slab had nowhere to go but in through the existing door and into the current library area.
As a result, the library has been temporarily closed with Kay Bowman, library director, and helpers try to dry it out using an industrial-size fan and fresh air.
The water level did not get up to any books or other reading material, but did thoroughly soak the commercial-grade carpeting and likely damaged the bases of some of the displays.
Webber said the plans are to shampoo all of the carpet in the library soon with the library to reopen soon after.
He said that after the rain storm workers from Rockin' H Construction worked diligently to help dry out the library. The company finished installing the roof and siding before the latest round of soaking rain on Tuesday, Feb. 14.
A photo taken last week after a rainstorm shows the double sill plate on concrete. With no roof on the library addition, rain water was trapped, causing it to flood into the finished portion of the Parker Library. (Roger Sims/Linn County Journal)
(In the original version of the article, the Journal indicated that the threshold in the door had been installed and contributed to the flooding. On further examination of the photo, it is evident that the threshold was not installed, leaving a gap for water to drain from the slab. We regret the error.)