Library roof causes more headaches

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May 3, 2011 - 12:00 AM

While renovations to Iola Public Library have been substantially completed, library officials still must grapple with a leaky roof.
Roger Carswell, the library’s executive director, told Iola City Council members Monday about the roof issues, while discussing a pair of potential added projects to the library work.
Carswell said heavy rain last week revealed another leak on the roof, the second in a span of two months, despite the roof being replaced during the renovations last year.
In both instances, the roofers from Allied Roofing Systems, Springfield, Mo., said the fault lies with crews working on climate-control systems on the roof.
Carswell said the roofers have rejected the library’s contention that they should still be responsible for ensuring the roof’s integrity.
The first of the major leaks, in February, caused damage that was paid for by the HVAC company’s insurance coverage, Carswell said. It’s too soon to tell who will claim responsibility for the most recent leak.
The city has retained about $50,000 from its final payment to General Services Corp. of Oswego, the general contractor in charge of the library’s renovations, until the roof work, as well as other final punch list items are settled, Carswell said.
He also said he was unsure, under questioning from City Attorney Chuck Apt, whether having the climate-control systems installed after the roof work would void the roofers’ warranty to the city.
With those issues unresolved, council members tabled decisions on putting up small stake-like structures on the roof to dissuade pigeons from perching there, and from installing a small heating system in the library apart from the other climate-control systems. The library has about $3,600 left in its budget for the added projects.

COUNCIL members voted 7-1, Ken Rowe opposed, to spend about $4,000 to pay for a portion of the costs to purchase and install three pieces of playground equipment in Riverside Park.
Thrive Allen County, and KOMPAN, the playground equipment’s manufacturer, will pay up to $8,000 for the equipment, which would cost a total of $10,457 to install. The remaining $2,457, plus another $1,500 or so for fill material, would come from the city.
City Administrator Judy Brigham noted the city had no available funds in its Parks Department budget, so the funding would come from a $10,000 special projects fund the city has maintained in its budget the past two years.
The new playground equipment is unlike other  pieces of equipment at the park, explained David Toland, Thrive’s executive director. Crews will install a garden see saw; a “daisy,” or miniature merry-go-round; and a spica, in which youngsters stand on a small platform, which spins around a curvy pole. A spica was displayed by Thrive at a recent Business EXPO and proved popular with passing children.

COUNCIL members promised to continue looking into whether the city should open a dog park.
Ray Shannon, an advocate for a dog park in south Iola, told council members about cost estimates he received last September to have an area south of Irwin Street and east of State Street fenced off to accommodate dogs of all sizes. Having the park fenced off would allow pet owners to have their dogs roam freely in the park without leashes.
But the fencing also takes up the bulk of the $20,000 price tag, Shannon acknowledged.
Brigham noted that the former Iola City Commission had begun looking into whether an area along North Elm and North Oak streets could be developed at a less expensive price because fencing is already in place there.
The site is where a water tower soon will be demolished, Brigham said.
But while the fencing is there, the area has two disadvantages, Shannon countered. It is substantially smaller, and there is less shade for the animals, compared to his favored site in the south part of town.
“But it would be a start,” Shannon conceded.

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