By Jodi Hausen,Staff Writer

FARMINGTON – Leaky radiators in the Franklin County courthouse are the reason for moving two assistant district attorneys’ offices last week.

James Andrews, assistant district attorney, said Tuesday that his office had been smelling bad, but on Jan. 25 it was particularly noxious. He wrote a memo to Franklin County commissioners that day describing the problem.

“For as long as I have been assigned here, six years, the heating system has had intermittent problems with leaks from the radiators,” he wrote. Dripping water onto insulated pipes and dried by the heat was emitting a sharp, musty odor making working conditions nearly unbearable, he continued.

Andrews said he was concerned about potential health issues particularly because insulation on the pipes on which the water was dripping may be asbestos.

County Clerk Julie Magoon received a call later that day from Andrews’ supervisor, District Attorney Norman Croteau, to whom Andrews had provided a copy of the memo. According to Andrews, he and fellow Assistant District Attorney Andrew Robinson were moved from their offices into a recently vacated space down the hall.

On Tuesday, Andrews said he has no gripe with the county. His intention in writing the memo was simply to provide a more appropriate working space for himself and Robinson.

“The county acted absolutely appropriately and the issue is being addressed very much to my satisfaction,” he said.

He said he is hoping it won’t cost the county much.

“We all understand the challenges of working in an antique building with limited funds for major improvements,” he wrote in the memo. “We have all learned to cheerfully endure minor inconveniences in the name of fiscal awareness.”

Magoon said she has received seven to eight calls daily since the news broke from various sales representatives who claim to have the solution to a problem, the evaluation of which commissioners have yet to receive. An insurance adjuster has evaluated four rooms in the building and a claim has been filed. It is unclear at this point if insurance will cover necessary repairs.

Magoon said she’s pretty sure paneling and studs and some carpeting will need to be replaced to abate any potential mold. Also, she said asbestos tile in the basement, though not a health hazard as is, will probably be sealed as a precaution. Also leaky radiator parts need to be replaced. Some, like one in Andrews’ former office, already has.

“We’re going to have to do something and it’s going to cost,” Magoon said.