“We are going to be closed to the public for the rest of the week,” City of Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco told The Inter-Mountain Tuesday. “We had a sewer line failure and we need to make sure the building is safe and free of pathogens before we bring our workers in and allow the public back into the building. We are taking all the precautions.”

Marco said the closure could possibly last beyond this week.

“We have an individual coming in on Thursday to do some testing for us and we may know more then,” he noted.

Marco said the building’s age contributed to the sewage backup, which flooded the entire first floor and basement.

“There were several factors that went into what happened, and unfortunately it flooded the entire first floor and basement area,” said Marco. “That’s what we are dealing with right now and we just have to make sure the building can be safely occupied. The safety of our employees and our citizens is our top priority right now.”

Marco added that officials are in the process of evaluating if any records or other important documents were damaged in the flooded areas.

“Each department is evaluating their own records right now to see where we are, and what was damaged and lost,” he said. “I can’t give an answer on the damage that was done until I hear back from various departments.” 

Due to City Hall being closed, this week’s Elkins City Council meeting will take place at the Phil Gainer Community Center at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The Phil Gainer Community Center is located at 142 Robert E Lee Ave Ext. There will be no live broadcast of this week’s City Council meeting this week.

The Inter-Mountain photo by Taylor McKinnie Workers throw away furniture from Elkins City Hall, which is closed this week due to a backup of sewage that flooded the first floor and basement.

Marco noted that information is still available for residents by calling City Hall or going online.

“We have modified our (phone) greeting to allow people to know what they need to do, and we are also putting stuff out on social media, so if people want to follow us there they can to get the latest updates,” Marco said. “We are trying to be as transparent as possible right now. There are just a lot of unknowns at the moment.”

Utility bills can be paid online by visiting www.cityofelkins.com/online-payments.

The Inter-Mountain photo by Taylor McKinnie A Randolph County Sheriff’s Office Mobile Command Center vehicle is parked beside Elkins City Hall, which is closed this week. Sheriff Rob Elbon said the vehicle was offered to the Elkins Police Department to use this week while the building is shuttered.