Unalaska, AK – Water damage stemming from a burst pipe in the gym at the Parks, Culture and Recreation Department earlier this month probably will close the facility for at least a month this summer.

Director Jeff Hawley says the PCR probably won't have a good idea of how much damage the floor sustained until early this summer, but that at a minimum it will need to be sanded and refinished, a process he hopes will begin in mid to late July.

"The worst scenario is probably a third of the floor will need to be replaced, [although] I don't believe we'll need to do that," he said. "When we have it assessed in June, we'll have a better idea."

A combination of a broken heater and unusually low temperatures caused a pipe in the gym to burst the morning of March 10. The gym was closed for nine days while PCR employees dried out the floor, which Hawley says could've been damaged much more badly if a staff member hadn't been at the PCR when the break happened.

Because the PCR staff acted quickly, the damage was limited to the main room of the gym, and the adjoining racquetball courts were spared. Hawley says it will take several months to dry the floor out entirely, and over that time frame a lot of things could happen--the maple floorboards could warp or separate, or return more or less to normal. For now, he says, the biggest concern is safety.

Hawley is talking with the Unalaska City School District about the possibility of opening one of the school gyms to the public while repairs are underway. He says the PCR won't have a cost estimate on the project until the condition of the floor is assessed in June, but that repairs will probably run at least $50,000.