FARMINGTON – The Board of Selectmen spent the bulk of Tuesday evening’s meeting discussing repairs to the roofs of various buildings around town, following a particularly difficult winter.
The most significant project involves the control building at the sewer treatment plant, which was built in 1972. The flat roof of the building, which consists of a membrane and asphalt, was not touched as part of the 1993 upgrade to the plant. It’s supported by a series of concrete “single tees,” supported on masonry walls.
The issue, according to town officials, is that a recent Maine Department of Environmental Protection inspection of the plant found evidence of leaks. An ensuing study by Lincoln/Haney Engineering Associates, Inc., which specializes in roof repairs and has worked previously to refurbish the community center’s roof, indicated that one of the concrete tees was damaged, grout placed between the tees had deteriorated and one corner of a masonry wall was cracking.
Lincoln/Haney is recommending that town repair the damage supports at the same time it re-roofs the control building. The firm prepared a two-stage proposal for the town, in which it would design a repair for the structural issues and then support the project by providing oversight and assistance with the bid process. The total cost for these services would be $4,800.
Selectmen approved the contract unanimously.
“We can’t not do it,” Selectman Stephan Bunker said. “I’d like to get it done before winter time.”
Selectmen also discussed an issue with the municipal building vestibule’s roof, which had partially caved in after some wooden substructure rotted away. In 1993, when the metal roof was installed atop the older, asphalt one, the builders used wooden rafters to hold it in place. However, Town Manager Richard Davis said, they had neglected to provide ventilation and moisture had built up inside the cavity. The rafters had rotted and when snow came off a higher roof, it dented the now-unsupported metal.
Repairing the metal exterior roof would cost $3,800, Davis said, and the cost of replacing the wooden substructure was not known. As part of the work, vents would be installed to prevent moisture from building up in the cavity.
Currently available funds to undertake the work included $2,300 in the building’s reserve account, plus some funds set aside to repair cracks in the parking lot. The town would likely need to hold a special town meeting to raise money for the repair, Davis said.
A third roof repair, to a pole barn at the Public Works lot damaged by a heavy snow load last winter, will be covered by insurance, Davis said. The town received an insurance payment of $2,920 to repair the roof, with the low bid going to Broderick Construction for $2,200. The project will replace some of the roof and one load bearing pole.
In other, non-roof related business, selectmen authorized the Farmington Police Department to work the security detail for the Farmington Fair. The department will work for the next three years, pending development of a contractual agreement.
According to Chief Jack Peck, the Franklin County Agricultural Society had agreed to pay the town $12,240 for 306 hours of coverage in the first year. Extra costs assumed by the department would also be covered.
In the past, Peck said, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department had been contracted to cover the fair, with the local department generally responding for incidents that occurred throughout fair week. As a result, Peck said, FPD ended up spending significant time at the fair and was reimbursed only half of incurred overtime costs.
In addition to the financial benefits, Peck said, he and Davis had agreed that it was important that the Farmington Fair be covered by the Farmington Police Department.
“It’s a lot of work,” Peck said, “but I know we can work well together.”
With 50 shifts to cover, Peck anticipated hiring four to five officers, all full-time, academy graduates, from surrounding departments for fair week. Fair week runs from Sept. 14 to Sept. 20.
