Repair crews might start work as soon as this summer to fix structural problems at the Athens Fire Department headquarters on Columbus Road.
Architects from MS Consultants, Inc., in Columbus have already assessed damage to the building, which is mainly the product of the building's 40 years, and will be recommending repairs to city officials sometime in the next two weeks.
I think the building is getting up there in age
and it's a little tired and needs to be augmented said Greg Galieti, director of architecture for MS Consultants. I don't think (the problems are) urgent. The building isn't going to come down anytime soon.
The deputy director of development, enforcement and facilities for the city code enforcement office, George Enevoldsen, said he hopes the repairs will not cost more than the almost $40,000 that is available, but Galieti had not yet estimated the monetary amount of damage.
We're not talking a few hundred thousand dollars he said.
The building has two specific problems.
There is a beam-like structure underneath the station's bay doors that is wearing away, Enevoldsen said.
There is noticeable damage to the ends of (the beam)
he said. The concrete is breaking away.
This problem could be fixed either by rebuilding the existing beam, adding additional support beams or replacing the beam altogether, Enevoldsen said.
Also, the building -which is basically constructed on stilts -needs additional lateral bracing to make it more resistant to pressure from wind and the entry and exit of fire trucks.
Just like if you were standing there and your legs were close together
it wouldn't be hard to push you over
Galieti said.
This problem could be fixed by reinforcing the columns on which the building sits with an X-brace -as is done with many bridges -or by building a wall and attaching it to the columns, Galieti said.
None of the problems are urgent, Galieti said.
However, Enevoldsen said he would like to see everything repaired this summer.
We need to get it done before the weather changes this fall
he said.
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Matt Zapotosky
