The following was reported in the City Manager Weekly Lowdown –
You may be wondering what is going on on the north side of the Public Safety Building this week? Public Works crews have cordoned off an area of the campus and are excavating around the building. Earlier this week, employees reported “fuel smells” coming from an area outside the building. In looking into the smells, the city discovered that the problem(s) seem to be the result of an issue with the emergency generator servicing the building. Crews began excavating soils around the building yesterday and discovered that fuel pipes within a junction box off of the Public Safety Building connecting to a fuel tank used for both the City Center and Public Safety Building had separated and was spilling diesel fuel into the ground. The city has been working with the State Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in mitigating the spill and will spend the next few weeks excavating the affected soils from around the building before the junction box and lines can be repaired and things put back in order. For the time being, access to the walkway in proximity to the Public Safety Building to the east parking lot will be closed. Thanks for your patience and know that things will soon be back to normal in the area.