By Alex Malm
During a recent Town Council meeting, the on-going issue of the Leach Library Roof came up to request the release funds from the expendable maintenance trust fund for a leak.
Director of Public Works, Dave Wholley, explained that they recently had a roof leak at the Leach Library that needed to be repaired, the temporary repair was made on Dec. 9.
“The $6,200 is for the emergency repair,” Wholley said, noting it would also pay for the permanent repair expected to be made this spring.
“The permanent repair is ready to go this spring,” said Wholley.
He noted that this wasn’t the first temporary repair made at the library over the years.
“There have been some other temporary repairs to this in the past,” said Wholley.
Town Councilor, Deb Paul, noted that since she has moved to town, the town has had to make repairs to this roof a number of times.
“I just feel like we spent a lot of money on this roof,” said Paul.
Town Council Chairman, John Farrell, said they have always had problems with the roof.
“Let’s be honest it wasn’t built correctly to begin with,” said Farrell.
It was noted by Town Councilor, Jim Butler, that when it was built they didn’t have a clerk of the works for it “Which I think was a mistake,” Butler said.
Wholley said that when he came to town in 2021 they were making repairs to a different portion of the roof.
“That repair has held up,” said Wholley.
Wholley explained that because of the different elevations of the roof and the way it was designed they may always have potential issues with it.
“It’s potentially always going to be problematic,” said Wholley.
One question asked by Farrell was whether or not they were aware of any other major issues with the building.
Wholley said aside from the roof and changes they have made to their HVAC system he isn’t aware of other major issues.
“There’s no structural issues with the building at all,” said Wholley.
The Town Council unanimously approved releasing the funds and also requested that city staff look into how much it would cost to replace the roof.
Also at the meeting, the Town Council had a first reading for proposed changes to the commercial and industrial property tax incentive program.
Town Manager, Mike Malaguti, explained previously that the program essentially allows for businesses that have new property value worth 15 million dollars or more to get tax breaks. For existing businesses, they can also get tax breaks if they have an additional 15 million dollars in value.
It was explained by Malaguti that since they implemented the program in June, they haven’t had anyone apply for it.