HELEN — With Oktoberfest opening for the 2016 season Thursday, damage to Helen’s restroom building probably couldn’t come at a worse time.
But city officials say structural repairs to the recently-renovated building will be necessary after the operator of a commercial trash truck struck the building Friday and left the scene without reporting the damage.
Gary Michael Reed, 60, an employee of Waste Management, now faces charges after allegedly striking the Helen public restroom building on Chattahoochee Street with a dumpster on Friday then leaving the scene without reporting the damage.
Helen officials said Reed notified his company but failed to notify Helen police or city hall of the damage.
Helen Police Chief Brian Stephens said his officers were notified by a downtown merchant that there was damage to the roof structure of the restroom building located between Whitehorse Plaza and the Helen Arts & Heritage Center on Friday. The merchant told officers there was a Waste Management truck in the vicinity at the time.
“We had an incident where located next to the restroom was a dumpster and then Waste Management emptied the dumpster,” said City Manager Jerry Elkins on Tuesday. “Evidently they were too close to the building and then it caused extensive damage to the gutters, the roof and the fascia board on the building.”
Helen Public Works Director Ross Hewell said the incident “bucked the roof” and noted part of the roof may have to be removed to repair or replace a damaged truss.
Reed was cited Tuesday morning for duty to report an accident resulting in property damage, Stephens said.
“He admitted to striking the building, but thought he only caught the gutter,” Stephens said.
City officials will be working with Waste Management’s insurance carrier to get the building repaired as quickly as possible.
While he doesn’t yet know the exact cost of getting the building repaired, Elkins told the city commission Tuesday morning it likely will be several thousand dollars.
“We have no cost to fix it at this time, however it shouldn’t take long to get it done once the insurance company contacts us and verifies that we can move forward with the repairs,” Elkins said.
Reed’s citation has a court date of Oct. 12, Stephens said.
