'Our studio is toast': County Headquarters Suffers Water Damage

MARIETTA — A pipe's failure over the weekend led to extensive water damage in the county's headquarters, including the jeopardization of over $400,000 in new equipment purchased for the county's communications department.

The aftermath of the flooding was detailed to the Cobb County Board of Commissioners at Monday's agenda review session.

According to Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, the source of the water was traced to the Human Resources office on the second floor of the David Hankerson Building at 100 Cherokee Street in Marietta.

It is unclear when over the weekend the flooding began.

Communications Director Ross Cavitt said his department's office, which sits on the first floor of the building, was discovered to have standing water and significant equipment damage Monday morning.

"Our studio is toast," Cavitt said. "Our studio will be out of commission until first quarter next year, at the earliest."

The commission authorized a $419,000 purchase of a "master control room" and studio camera system for the CobbTV Studio in February. The equipment was installed in May.

In an email to the MDJ, the county's communication's department said it is still working with the county's risk management department to assess how much damage had been done.

The team said most, but not all, of that new equipment was damaged or destroyed.

Cavitt told the commissioners Monday morning that his team was wary of testing the equipment with so much water remaining.

"Once the ceiling stops raining downstairs, we’re gonna try to plug in and see what our capabilities are..." he said.

The communications department confirmed that despite the damage, citizens can still expect to see Tuesday's commission meeting live streamed on the county's YouTube page.

Commissioner Monique Sheffield told the MDJ after the review session that the flooding illustrates larger infrastructure issues across the county.

"It’s the aging of our buildings. It's the same thing with the county’s infrastructure — we’re aging," Sheffield said. "... I’m just glad nobody was here, because as you can imagine, it’s electronics and water."