LIMA — One casualty of the flooding hitting the area was the United Way building on South Collett Street.
A staff member of the United Way of Greater Lima arrived at work Tuesday morning to more than 2 feet of water in the lower level, said Phil Hayne, president and chief executive officer of the United Way.
The building at 616 S. Collett St. is about 50 years old and never flooded in the past, Hayne said.
The lower level of the building is home to the United Way offices and an office for the YWCA. That agency also closed because of the water, he said.
Water was being pumped out of the building well into Wednesday with the hopes it would be finished by the evening. The next step is to remove the carpet, cut away drywall and get the lower level dried out, Hayne said.
“Our biggest concern is getting water out to minimize mold,” Hayne said.
Office equipment, including computers, were under water, he said.
“Anything on the floor has been destroyed by water,” he said.
Several businesses in the area have called to offer office space but Hayne has not made a decision on where the agency will set up temporary headquarters. He expects to be out of the flooded location for at least four weeks, he said.
The United Way does not provide a service but handles a lot of coordinated efforts and needs to have the ability to set up a location to effectively communicate, he said. Anyone needing to contact the United Way can call the office number, which is forwarded to a staff member’s cellphone.
Hayne was not sure how the water entered. He said it did not flow in from the surface and likely came in from the ground.
The city of Lima is still under water by Faurot Park along North Shore Drive, which is closed throughout the park. The Soap Box Derby, scheduled for this weekend, may be pushed back a week if the water is not gone by the weekend or if there is damage to the pavement, Public Works Director Howard Elstro said.
“The river is going down but whether it goes down quick enough so they can hold their event, no one knows,” he said.
