news-record.com

The Guilford County commissioners would rather not spend up to $1 million to save two containers of waterlogged records from the sheriff’s office.

But they can’t make the call on that and must pay thousands to keep the records frozen — literally — until an attorney from the U.S. Department of Justice arrives early next week to say what can stay or go.

“These records go back into the mid-(1950s),” Sheriff BJ Barnes said of the 800 boxes of paper records that were under 6 feet of water after heavy flooding two weeks ago in downtown Greensboro and the Otto Zenke building, headquarters for the sheriff’s office.

Barnes said many of the records were unused and simply in storage.

Commissioners Chairman Melvin “Skip” Alston said that each box could cost up to $1,300 to restore.

Those records include files from closed investigations and reports of police work, and were pulled from the headquarters of the sheriff’s office after the June 3 storm that dumped up to 8 inches of rain on the county.

“If it had caught fire, heaven forbid, it would not have been a question,” Barnes said.

The paperwork was put in refrigerated containers and frozen until a Justice Department attorney and state archivist can determine what stays and what goes.

No commissioners seemed concerned with what those documents held for previous investigations, and Barnes did not explain in depth what those documents could hold.

The sheriff’s office investigates crime in unincorporated areas of the county, assists municipalities and runs the county jail.

“It’s really hard to put a value on documents. It’s a really gray area,” Commissioner Kirk Perkins said.

The commissioners voted to allow whatever spending was necessary to salvage the records ordered to be saved.

Contact Gerald Witt at 373-7008 or gerald.witt @news-record.com