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State grant may aid Russellville Community Center roof effort
RUSSELLVILLE — With significant headway made locally to fund the effort, repairs to the roof at the Russellville Community Center are waiting in the wings.
Grant administrator Mike Kleinpeter and architect Henry Stellema of DLZ Corporation detailed the improvements and pursuing a grant from the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) at a final public hearing during the Russellville Town Council’s regular meeting last Wednesday evening.
The amount being pursued with the grant is $500,000, in which $60,000 of this would be contributed by the community center’s benefactors as a local match through the “Raising the Roof” campaign.
Kleinpeter said a proposal was submitted to the state before Oct. 21, after which OCRA representatives visited the center. The project’s application will be due on Dec. 22, with awards being announced in February.
Stellema first commented that given its age, the building as a whole is “in good shape.” In terms of the roof, the major issue is that it is flat. This means that water pools and has led to water damage to ceiling tiles.
It was noted that the portion over the gymnasium, which is sloped, was renovated recently and is itself holding up.
Apart from the roof and replacing all of the ceiling tiles, other improvements would include replacing exterior doors and switching out the outmoded oil-burning boiler. In turn, moisture is able to get to the basement through a chimney.
Stellema said tapered insulation would be installed so water can run through gutters on one part and internal drains on the other. Otherwise, some drains are higher than where water stands now.
Adding the tapered insulation is the alternative to building in trusses, which was deemed untenable financially with the price of lumber. The warranty on this would be at a 20-year minimum.
If the award is given, DLZ would finalize the design and the project would go out to bid next summer. The work would have to be completed 18 months from February.
More than 50 letters of support have been submitted toward the grant. This was besides many community members being in attendance at the meeting.
The council finally passed a resolution authorizing a commitment to the local match. The funds are to be deposited from the community center’s purview to the town.
In other business:
• Council President Cary McGaughey updated that the town, along with Brian Bullock and Larry Haag of Beam, Longest and Neff, had met with the State Revolving Fund on its loans for the water tower project.
• The council approved a water adjustment of $96.69 for a resident who had recorded higher-than-usual usage last month compared to three months prior.
With Councilwoman Cathy Jones, Town Marshal Matt Biggs, Street Superintendent John Boller and Town Attorney Stu Weliever absent, McGaughey and Councilman Bill Spiegel were joined by Clerk-Treasurer Martha Mandleco and Deputy Clerk-Treasurer Catherine Engle for the meeting.
The next regular meeting of the Russellville Town Council is set for Wednesday, Dec. 28 at 7 p.m. at the community center.