Town earmarks $56K for roof, solar panel work
The Town Board has approved spending $56,300 to replace the roof at the Town Hall on Tinker Street.
Town Supervisor Bill McKenna noted the project will include removing solar panels.
“For the last two or three years, we’ve applied a sealer up there that’s seems to keep the water at bay while we sock away a little bit of money to pay ... to replace it,” McKenna said of the roof.
But, he said, “recently, the roof has started to leak a lot more, and it’s leaking over [police] communications equipment.”
The action taken by the board on Tuesday authorizes up to $52,800 for J&A Roofing Co. and $3,500 for Solar Generation.
The board agreed to move forward on an emergency basis after determining that “following normal town procurement policies would delay repairs for several months, causing additional damage to the building an equipment.”
The roof was reported to have doubled its expected 15year useful life.
“We can’t really complain,” McKenna said. “We knew this was coming . ... We had sealed it and it held off for two years.”
The board’s vote on Tuesday did not include funding to have the solar panels returned to roof, which could cost up to $12,000.
The town plans to consider switching to more efficient solar panels.
“The [current] panels are 10 or 12 years old; they’re not as efficient,” McKenna said. “But ... I hate to throw stuff away that’s still working. So it’s a conversation that we should continue to have.”