DaytonDailyNews.com

TROY — Most offices in the Miami County Safety Building will remain closed today while county officials, employees and contractors wade through logistical issues following a weekend waterline break.

The county commissioners are expected to declare an official "disaster" this morning.

The designation allows commissioners "to do the things you need to do to get the county back on its feet ... as quickly as possible," county Prosecutor Gary Nasal told commissioners Monday.

The "disaster" hit overnight Saturday when a waterline broke in probate court on the second floor. Several inches of water covered floors and flowed down stairwells and through holes in concrete floors to the first floor and into the building's basement, which houses offices and records storage.

Damage was confined to the southern part of the building.

Commission President Ron Widener said the damage would run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. A company is assessing records and computers for water and moisture damage.

The commissioners met with around 20 elected officials, department heads and insurance representatives Monday afternoon and said it would be up to each department's leader to tell employees when they needed them back in the office.

At the second-floor prosecutor's office, where there was heavy water damage, employees were packing up Monday to move the entire office to the Hobart Center for County Government a few blocks away. Probate Court, located across the hall, will move down the hall to the juvenile court offices.

Commissioner John "Bud" O'Brien said the building may open to the public on Wednesday.

The status of computers will be vital to opening offices. "If we can't get computers on, we can't operate," Widener said.

A check of building security tapes showed the second floor was too dark to determine when water started flowing, but footage from the first floor showed water oozing under doors around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, sheriff's Capt. Dave Duchak said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 335-4357 or nbowman@DaytonDailyNews.com.

Miami County

Closed to public until further notice:

Auditor's Office, first floor

Treasurer's Office, first floor

Recorder's Office, first floor

Tax Map Department,

first floor

Prosecutor's Office,

second floor

Victim Witness Office, second floor

Juvenile and Probate Courts, second floor

Open to public today

Commissioners office,

first floor

Common Pleas Court and Common Pleas Clerk,

third floor

Sheriff's Office, north end of building

County Courthouse (home of Municipal Court/Board of Elections/OSU Extension)