NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Cleanup efforts are underway in Sumner County after several government buildings were damaged by water.
Extreme cold temperatures around Christmas caused several pipes to burst, including inside the Sumner County Administration Building, the Gallatin Public Library, and the Millersville Public Library.
"We have had employees and me going to the Millersville location since Christmas day. We've been shoveling water, cleaning up, dusting and going through their entire collection to check for rain damage. We've also been cleaning out closets," said Gabby Cato, Gallatin Public Library's senior director.
Cato was devastated on Christmas Eve when part of the Gallatin Public Library suffered water damage.
"It was mainly in our book drop which is where our library guests turn in their book when they’re done with them if they can’t come into the building," Cato said.
Dozens of books were ruined, so they had to throw them out. Cato said their damage was minimal compared to their sister library in Millersville.
"We just need ceiling tiles and a little kind of support thing for the sprinkler system. We’re still up to codes, and this is the nicest sprinkler in the entire building now," Cato explained.
Water damaged the entire building at the Millersville Library.
"We really want to get this library opened for the citizens as quickly as possible," Sumner County Mayor John Isbell said.
Isbell has been helping both libraries with clean up, while at the same time dealing with $175,000 worth of damage at the administration building.
"On Christmas Eve we got a call from the fire department that this elbow piece had frozen and broke into two, which caused the line to drop and start flooding the building," Mayor Isbell said.
The damage led to water leaking from the third floor to the basement, and it damaged all of the deed books.
Mayor Isbell is grateful the damage wasn't worse and thinks it's been a community cleanup effort.
The Gallatin Public Library is back open to the public.
The Millersville Public Libraryremains closed but is offering curbside pickup.
All the documents damaged in the Sumner County Administration Building are digitized, but they are hiring a company to reconstruct all the books damaged.
