by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
It took two tries and a couple weeks worth of keeping a secret, but Tuesday Chief Judge Don Moran and Court Administrator Joe Stelma were able to surprise City Engineer Mike Tatum for the work he recently did after two floors of the County Courthouse were badly damaged by flooding.
At some point on Thursday or Friday of Thanksgiving weekend, an overhead pipe on the fifth floor of the 56-year-old building burst. While Tatum estimates the water did about $200,000 in damage and inconvenienced dozens of Courthouse employees for several weeks, things could have been much worse.
“I was lucky that one of my guys came in that Saturday morning,” said Tatum, who has been with the City for 24 years and also oversees the maintenance of The Florida Theatre, the Annex on Bay Street and the Yates Building.
Tuesday, Moran and Stelma presented Tatum with a plaque, recognizing him for the work he did to quickly repair as much of the damage as possible and get many Courthouse staffers — including a few judges — back into their offices, courtrooms and chambers.
In addition to the plaque, Tatum got a tub of bubble gum and a brand new roll of duct tape.
“When Mike and I were up there in ankle-deep water, he said, ‘You know this place is held together with bubble gum and duct tape.’ So, Mayor (John) Peyton and I chipped in and got him some bubble gum and a roll of duct tape,” said Moran, perhaps only half-jokingly. “He did a wonderful job under trying circumstances. This building is really barely held together.”
Tatum was quick to credit his staff for their efforts as well.
“My name might be on this plaque, but I guarantee there are six guys downstairs who deserve this too,” said Tatum, who started as an AC mechanic. “I am going to go into the new building (Courthouse). I don’t give a dang if I have to stay another 20 years. I just want to see what a new building is like. This building was built in 1953 and we are still using things from 1953. This is not the first flood and it probably won’t be the last. But, it was the most extensive one because of where it happened.”
Tatum said his crew makes it possible for the Courthouse to still function enough to conduct trials and other public business.
“The best part of my job is the guys I work with — they do not work for me. They are probably the best the city has to offer,” said Tatum. “I have great people in all four buildings and they make my job as less strenuous as it could be.”
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