Roof project at Firemen’s Hall appears back on track
City lawmakers again have adopted a resolution authorizing funding to repair the roof of the former Wiltwyck Fire Station on Fair Street, which houses the Volunteer Firemen’s Hall and Museum.
During a meeting Tuesday, the Common Council unanimously adopted a resolution authorizing $10,000 to be taken from the city’s contingency fund to cover the cost of the repairs. The council adopted a similar resolution last year, but the repairs were never made.
“For whatever reason, it did not happen,” said Alderman Douglas Koop, D-Ward 2. “The monies were put back in the contingency. This resolution allows us to pull this money out of the contingency and make repairs to this beautiful facility that we have in Uptown.”
Bill Knowles, president of the board of directors of the Volunteer Firemen’s Hall and Museum, said Wednesday that the organization still was waiting
for the repairs to be made to the building at 265 Fair St.
He said the work will be done when the roofing company and a plumber can fit the job into their schedules.
“It’s weather-dependent and job-dependent, depending on the contractor,”
Knowles said.
Mayor Steve Noble said a purchase order in the amount of $8,665 was submitted May 3 for J&A Roofing of Kingston to complete the roof repair and coating this summer.
“They are putting this project on their summer schedule, and we expect
work to commence in the next two to three weeks,” the mayor said Thursday.
Knowles said the contracts for the work have been signed. In the meantime, he said, every time it looks like there will be rain, members of the museum cover up the exhibits inside the building to prevent
them from sustaining water damage. So far, the exhibits have suffered no damage despite water getting into the building, Knowles said.
Knowles previously said the city included repair work at the museum as part of its application to use nearly $10 million in
state Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding.
He said the city still is waiting for approval from the state to use $560,000 of that funding to replace the museum’s roof, fix the masonry and replace the windows. In the meantime, the building has to be sealed, Knowles said.