Faced with the options of either repairing or replacing the old library roof, the Select Board agreed at its Dec. 3 meeting that replacement would be the wiser choice.
After reviewing an evaluation of the existing condition of the roof prepared by engineering consulting firm Gale Associates, the board was convinced that the ratio of benefit to cost was much higher for the replacement option than the repair option.
Gale’s estimate to repair the roof is about $650,000, while the estimate to replace the roof is about $1.25 million. That figure includes construction and non-construction costs as well as contingencies. This year’s Annual Town Meeting voted to borrow $480,000 to fund the roof replacement project, so the Select Board will have to go through the process of putting a request for the additional amount on the warrant for spring Town Meeting. The first step in that process will be to justify the added expense to the Capital Planning and Investment Committee (CPIC), which will consider the request at its Dec. 16 meeting.
The option to repair the roof would have replaced only about 4 feet of slate around the edges to allow installation of ice and water shield and new gutters, and masonry renovation of the bricks beneath the gutters. The replacement option includes replacing all of the old library’s roofs (slate, copper, and membrane), new gutters, and replacement of all sheet metal components such as flashing. It also includes renovations to defective masonry in areas not directly behind the gutters, as well as additional roof framing repairs, such as addressing the rafters in a section of roof that appears to be bowed.
Assistant Town Administrator Marie Sobalvarro reported the Select Board’s position to the Permanent Building Committee at its Dec. 4 meeting. That committee agreed there was no need for it to take any further action at this time, and that no further documents are needed from Gale. Chair Cindy Russo said it would be up to the Select Board to take the project to CPIC, but the Permanent Building Committee would be willing to send one or two of its members to the CPIC review as technical advisors.
Sobalvarro reiterated to the committee that she will be requesting a $600,000 grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council to help fund the roof replacement. The application is due in January, and grants are not announced until June.
