Grand Forks 1997 Flood Recovery: Grand Forks County
Renewed, Rebuilt, Reborn
The flood of 1997 had an enormous impact on Grand Forks County government. The county occupied five buildings in downtown Grand Forks: The county office building, social services, sheriff’s department, courthouse and correctional center. The sheriff’s department building was severely damaged while the county office and social services buildings sustained damage in the basement and first floors. The courthouse and the correctional center – a co-joined building – had extensive damage to the basement offices, while the correctional center had flooding on the first floor with damage to the boilers in the basement.
The County Commission decided to consolidate the social services, sheriff’s department and the county office staff into a new structure. A site across the street from the courthouse was selected for the new county office building. In cooperation with the City of Grand Forks, the sheriff’s department was co-located in the city police department’s building. The City/County Public Health Department moved from the police building into the new county office building.
The county offices closed on Friday, April 18 and reopened in Larimore North Dakota, 30 miles west of Grand Forks, the following Monday. Most county services operated out of Larimore until the end of August. The correctional center set-up a temporary facility in the National Guard Armory located west of Interstate 29 and transported inmates to whatever facilities had the room to assist with inmate needs. In August of 1997 the county offices, the district court and the correctional center returned to Grand Forks. The social services staff abandoned the first floor of its building and provided daily service from the top three floors. The first floor staff in the county office relocated into the courthouse.
Construction of the new county office building began in 1998. The cost of the building was approximately $20,000,000. The 135,000-square-foot structure was designed to enhance the appearance of the courthouse. The new county office building opened in January 2000. It was designed with flood mitigation in mind. The building does not have a basement and the first floor is 13 inches above the waterline of the 1997 flood. All the mechanical equipment was placed on the seventh floor and key electrical components are five feet above the 1997 waterline.
Last Modified: Thursday, 04-Jun-2009 13:04:45 EDT