Manistee City Hall's elevator is temporarily out of service as the city awaits parts after a burst pipe caused damage Christmas morning.

MANISTEE — Manistee City Hall sustained water damage to all four floors after a fire suppression line burst on the third floor.

"Christmas morning we were informed of a pipe break," said Bill Gambill, city manager, during a Jan. 3 city council meeting. "Once the fire department was alerted they came down and were able to turn it off, but significant damage was done — drywall, ceilings, also the elevator."

The elevator is currently out of order until further notice. City council meetings will go on as scheduled with remote access accommodations being provided in the police department lobby for residents unable to use the staircase to access council chambers on the third floor. There will be a virtual viewing area and those wishing to make public comment will have the ability.

"We're waiting on two parts for the elevator," Gambill said. "We don't have an ETA for them yet."

Those seeking similar accommodations for other city board and commission meetings should contact the city manager's office by calling 231-398-2801 at least 48 hours before the meeting, according to a post on the city of Manistee's website.

Restoration of the building will likely take months, according to the post.

"We're going to look at how we can prevent this in the future. ... We have a vent and ... some hollow areas in the building that we need to make sure get some warm air, especially during these storms," Gambill said. "We're going to be kind of fixing up. We've been working with the insurance and we have kind of an ad hoc group of staff kind of monitoring this and making sure it moves forward.

"... We're going to try to get that fixed and make sure it doesn't happen again."

I was born and raised in Manistee. I earned a bachelor's degree in English from Grand Valley State University. My hobbies include fishing, reading and playing music.