Cleanup continues at Campbell City Hall after Sunday deluge

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The sun is peeking out of the clouds today, but the effects of Sunday night’s storm are still being felt – especially at Campbell City Hall.

Due to extensive flooding, city hall, 351 Tenney Ave., may be closed for up to a week.

Campbell Mayor Nick Phillips said Monday he had been working to clean up the damage since 12:30 a.m. after receiving a middle-of-the-night call about water in the building. Fifteen workers from National Fire & Water Repair in Youngstown joined the cleanup effort.

“Water was just pouring into the city hall – it was that bad,” Phillips said. “When we went up on the roof, the drains weren’t able to handle the amount of water and the water was coming in.”

Water damaged furniture, circuitry, floors, equipment and important documents in the building. The situation was especially acute in the police department, which is in the building’s basement.

Though the storm hit city phone lines, residents are still able to call 911 to be connected to the line operated by the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office.

Campbell Municipal Court hearings set for today instead will take place at the Coitsville Township administration building, 3737 McCartney Road.

To add insult to injury, Campbell City Hall lost power for about 90 minutes Monday morning after a Wilson Avenue transformer caught fire. Residents also lost power throughout the city, though the power was restored Monday afternoon.

The Mahoning Valley had 2.25 inches of rain between Sunday and 3 p.m. Monday at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna, said Mark Adams, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Cleveland. Of that amount, 1.95 inches fell just on Sunday, when the deluge was particularly intense.

Some areas of the Mahoning and Shenango valleys received more rainfall, but the weather service’s official weather information for the region is done at the airport.

The downpour caused several major routes to close due to flooding.

All lanes of Interstate 680 northbound at South Avenue were reopened about 5:30 p.m. Monday after the Ohio Department of Transportation closed the area earlier in the day.

Woodland/Himrod Avenue to I-680 northbound, state Route 711 to I-680 northbound, and state Route 165 between state Route 46 and U.S. Route 62 all reopened late Monday afternoon after being closed in the morning.

The weather also caused power outages for several thousand people in the Valley. Most of the outages were concentrated in Campbell, Youngstown, Lowellville and Struthers. Power was restored for the majority of people by late Monday evening, according to FirstEnergy.

A boil alert is still in effect on portions of Youngstown’s East Side, however, after a power outage led to low water pressure.

Residents within a boundary east of Albert Street, north of Early Road and west of Liberty Road are advised to boil water before drinking it or using it for cooking. A roiling boil of one minute is adequate.

The city water department will notify residents when the water has been tested and deemed safe.

The forecast for today calls for a small chance of isolated showers between the afternoon and evening.