Flooding of the Athens Fire Station on Richland Avenue after the recent heavy rainstorms could cost the city about $23,000 to replace the station's leaky roof.
The fire station's roof is about 10 years old, Athens Fire Chief Bob Troxel said. The heavy rainstorm last week caused the station to flood, damaging the station's electrical boxes and other equipment.
On a scale of one to 10
the urgency of replacing the roof is a nine Troxel said.
Because of the situations' urgency, City Council will vote on an appropriation for the money to replace the roof at the May 17 meeting, Mayor Paul Wiehl said. He added that Council probably will take the necessary steps to fix the problem immediately.
Although the city could repair the roof for about $8,000, it makes more sense to replace the entire roof because its 10-year warranty has expired, said councilwoman Sherry Coon, D-2nd Ward, at the May 10 Athens City Council meeting.
Just repairing the roof won't fix the problem Wiehl said. The heavy rains are stressing everyone's roof capacity.
At the Council meeting, Troxel said flat roofs on both the fire station on Richland Avenue and the one on Columbus Road have been ongoing problems. He added that flat roofs are a hassle because water sits in puddles on the roof, but if the roof were sloped, the water would run right off.
Council is considering whether to slope the roof of the Richland Avenue fire station when it is replaced, Wiehl said. He added that if the city could slope the roof while still keeping the cost less than $23,000, it would.
The fire station on Columbus Road also has a flat roof, but there is no drainage problem at the moment, Wiehl said.
Money for the roof will come out of the capital improvements fund, which includes all large ticket items such as police cruisers, fire trucks and roofs, he said.
The replacement of the Richland Avenue fire station roof will be fully funded by the city, he said.
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Alex Stuckey
