North Olmsted Police Department proposing extensive plumbing work to fix leaky jail cell pipes

NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio – After North Olmsted police were unable to use two of their nine prison cells due to recent plumbing problems, Police Chief Bob Wagner hopes the city council will approve the construction of the prison renovation facility.

“The police station, built in 1973, has all the original installations,” said Wagner. “The problem we’ve been facing for years is that it’s so old that the lines keep breaking. We can’t even get parts for a lot of devices anymore. It’s a disaster and needs a complete overhaul. “

The estimated cost of the work is expected to be in the range of $ 60,000 to $ 100,000, with funding, if approved, from the city’s capital improvement fund.

“We have had people come over the years to do minor repairs,” said Wagner. “We have been using Band Aids for a number of years. Inevitably, you have prisoners coming in and trying to flood their cells and flush things that shouldn’t be flushed.

“This is how chaos is created. It has been a constant struggle for us for several years to deal with the plumbing problems. “

The North Olmsted Police prison cells need new lines. (Courtesy of the North Olmsted Police Department)

The police chief hopes the project will be completed by September.

“We have a fixed view of what we have to do, which is a completely new installation for our nine cells,” said Wagner. “This also includes new fittings – faucets and toilets – in the cells.”

The planned plumbing project at the North Olmsted Police Department comes a year after the completion of a $ 1.2 million rooftop project and a 2,000-square-foot expansion of the second floor above the existing gun area, which received new backstop and equipment in 2019.

“It’s all taken care of and we’re currently using it,” said Wagner. “We should have done it 20 years ago. It’s great and awesome. I probably bewitch myself, but right now we don’t have a leak in the whole building, which is a first in my 23 years here in North Olmsted.

“Once this prison problem is resolved, we should be in pretty good shape.”

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