TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Pasco Jail's Tornado Damage Estimated At $1.5 Million

News Channel 8 photo by PAUL LAMISON

BEFORE AND AFTER: A minimum security annex was destroyed during the storm.

ADVERTISEMENT

By Julia Ferrante of The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 18, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - A tornado that ripped through the Land O' Lakes jail complex off U.S. 41 early Sunday morning left behind at least $1.5 million in damage, initial estimates show.

How much of that cost Pasco County officials will have to absorb will depend on whether the tornado came from the remnants of Tropical Depression Olga or from a cold front clashing with moist air left over from the storm, county risk manager Jane Calano told commissioners Tuesday.

County officials are working with their insurers to determine how much they are entitled to for the tornado damage, which destroyed a temporary facility the county was leasing and damaged another the county owns. Fences surrounding the facilities also were toppled, and four 7,700-pound air conditioning units were ripped from the main jail building.

The county has separate policies on its leased temporary facility and the main jail building. The deductibles on those policies depend on the type of damage sustained.

If the county's insurers determine the damage was made by a tornado from the cold front, the deductible would be $50,000, Calano said. The county also may be obligated to pay for about $50,000 in additional damage not covered by their policy. If, however, the damage was made by Olga, the deductible would be 5 percent of the insured value of the jail buildings.

"I have that building insured for $55 million, so [the deducible] would be $2.5 million," Calano said.

The main building needs a new roof and new air conditioning units, which could cost about $1 million alone, Calano said.

County officials are trying to determine whether the tent facility they own — the one damaged but not destroyed — was added to their $55 million jail building policy. If it was not, it could be covered under an errors and omissions clause.

County officials contend the tornado, which touched down at about 5:20 a.m., came from the cold front.

Chief Assistant County Administrator Michele Baker, who used to be the county's emergency management director, noted that the last advisory on Olga was issued three days before the Land O' Lakes tornado.

In the meantime, county commissioners authorized their purchasing director, Scott Stromer, to order a replacement tent facility from their leasing agent and to make other emergency repairs.

Emergency management officials also are reviewing the jail policies on storm evacuations to determine whether they are adequate. The rented tent facility, which housed nonviolent female inmates, was evacuated about 20 minutes before the storm hit, said Jim Johnston, Pasco's emergency operations coordinator.

"Fortunately, there were no lives lost, but this should be a wake-up call," commission chairman Ted Schrader said.

Also Tuesday, commissioners authorized their attorneys to hire the law firm Holland & Knight for up to $25,000 to investigate a troubled state investment fund on their behalf. Pasco officials plan to ask Hillsborough County officials and other contributing entities to join their efforts to determine whether procedures were followed when a number of investors, concerned about the stability of the fund, withdrew several billion dollars within three weeks.

County Attorney Robert Sumner told commissioners that if they end up in litigation about the fund, it could cost them about $1 million, but Pasco already stands to lose at least that much as they and other governments make their investments elsewhere.

"You have to think about what you will get out of it, too," Sumner said. "As long as everybody sits back, and we have a report as to how things are going every week, ain't nothing going to happen. Somebody's got to make a move."

Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220 or jferrante@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT