Water damage exacerbates space issues at Troy Police Department

Drywall and insulation were carved out of the walls of the men’s and women’s locker rooms within the Troy Police Department recently after personnel discovered water leaking into the building. (Photos courtesy of the Troy Police Department)

By Charles Bolinger
Editor • Space was already at a premium within the Troy Police Department but Mother Nature decided to add her own special plot twist.

“I wanted to get into the damage to the building that we discovered,” began Troy Police Chief Chris Wasser at a public safety committee meeting on June 1. “Obviously, this problem isn’t going to go away with the size of the police department and now we have this water issue.”

Wasser provided some background on the water intrusion.

“About four weeks ago, we discovered water damage on the north wall of the police department, in the men’s and women’s locker rooms and in one of the interview rooms,” he explained.

“We don’t know how long the problem has been there; the drywall started to give way and that is what led us to where we are now,” he said.

Drywall and insulation were carved out of the walls of the men’s and women’s locker rooms within the Troy Police Department recently after personnel discovered water leaking into the building. (Photos courtesy of the Troy Police Department)

Wasser contacted Serv-Pro and had a crew come in to remove the wet drywall and insulation. 

“Upon removing that, you can see in some of the photos that this problem has persisted for a while; because it didn’t just start rusting in three [or four] weeks.

The big mystery at the moment is the source of the water leak. Various potential culprits were bandied about during the meeting – is it a hole in the roof membrane that was installed five or six years ago; are the solar panels that were put on the roof in 2025 somehow creating an issue; is it a tuckpointing problem? 

“We just know that it’s been happening for a while now,” he said.

They had mold testing performed but those results came back negative, he said, meaning no mold remediation is necessary. 

Drywall and insulation were carved out of the walls of the men’s and women’s locker rooms within the Troy Police Department recently after personnel discovered water leaking into the building. (Photos courtesy of the Troy Police Department)

Wasser said the department is a crossroads of sorts, knowing that they still have an existing space crunch but now there is this unknown source of water infiltration that must be dealt with. He wanted to get direction from the mayor and city council on how to proceed.

“We can’t just put [new] drywall back up there because we don’t know where the source of the leak is,” he emphasized.

He said they don’t know if the masonry is the source or the roof. He thinks the department’s other interview room may be similarly impacted.

Mayor David Nonn asked Wasser if they noticed any new water intrusions after the inch or so of rain that fell earlier that day. 

“Serv-Pro came back out after the rain this morning,” Wasser said. “We didn’t see anything. Andy and I looked and didn’t see anything this morning.”

Serv-Pro’s work also means the department has fewer areas than ever to store things due to future rain. Large sections of drywall and insulation were removed from the department’s northern wall. The north wall is one of the building’s original walls, dating back to the 1990s.

“This space is not going away and it’s only getting worse,” Wasser said.

The water leakage also impacted one of the department’s interview rooms. (photo courtesy of the Troy Police Department)

City Administrator Jay Keeven said the city has $25,000 in its building maintenance fund. Serv-Pro has cost about $2,500 to date plus the cost of the mold testing. Wasser said just replacing the drywall and insulation will cost $8,000. Monies from that fund have also been spent on the city hall council chamber refresh. The walls and wainscotting were redone in January and February while the council met at Triad High School. This week, the carpet should be replaced and next year, new gallery seating is likely.

City Engineer Tom Cissell said he believes that driving rains from the north are a contributing factor versus rains that fall vertically without help from any strong winds. Mayor Nonn thinks the mortar in the wall has fractured, allowing the water through.

They finally agreed to contact the company that installed the roof and GRP Wegman for the solar panels and a contractor to check the north wall.

Ed. Note: check out the June 11 edition of the Times-Tribune for more details about the police department’s possible expansion