Odor at courthouse linked to faulty dampers

PALMER — Something stinks at the new courthouse.

Defendants and prosecutors alike complain of a stench pervading the hallowed ground after an addition to the main building was completed last year. It is the unmistakable smell of sewage.

“We think we have found the problem,” clerk of courts Teresa Shaw said, and it is not a corrupt judge, prosecutorial misconduct or a miscarriage of justice.

Shaw said when the temperature gets to a certain degree, it becomes more efficient to cool recirculated air than drawing it from the outside. The dampers seal, creating negative air pressure inside the building. The resulting suck was drawing air up through a drain in the mechanical room and all the odors that came with it.

The problem drain has been sealed, and the dampers are now set so they never completely close, Shaw said. She said a part is on order to permanently fix the problem and should arrive in the next few days.

The courthouse addition, which opened in May 2008 and gave the building three new courtrooms, was designed by the Anchorage firm McCool Carlson Green.

Project manager Robert Kalander said the cause is a chain reaction of things. The ventilation system was trying to exhaust the building faster than new air was coming in. To balance the pressure, air was being drawn from any possible source, including the drain.

“It’s a series of things that have been identified. Some of it is as simple as recalibrating the air flow, telling the computer when to open and close the dampers,” Kalander said. “The drawing areas causing the problem have been closed off or rerouted.”

Since they started making the adjustments, the smell has diminished, he said. They continue to monitor the problem, and Kalander said it should be non-issue before too long.

This problem is becoming more common, Kalander said, as buildings are built to more exact standards for maximum efficiency.

“Now, rather than open doors or windows or leaks and cracks in walls, we rely on a monitoring system to put air in or take air out,” he said. “All the systems have to work together for it to function properly.”

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.