The slashing rains that hammered the region earlier this week has Allen County Commissioners seeking help elsewhere to repair a leaky courthouse roof. While the roof is still under warranty with Boren’s Roofing of Iola, the commission agreed that immediate repairs need to be done.
“We had some flooding in my office Monday,” said District Court Clerk Dina Morrison at Tuesday’s commission meeting. “It was pouring on my head and on my monitors while I worked.”
Morrison reminded commissioners she and County Maintenance Director Ron Holman were before the commission a month prior with the same issue.
Joining them at that previous meeting was Cory Boren of Boren’s Roofing. “He was here, that day, on the roof,” Morrison noted of Boren. “Two weeks ago, the roof leaked again and he came again. I think he was also here today.”
Morrison said that with Monday’s severe weather, the leak worsened in her office, the jury room, and the adjoining vault.
THE COURTHOUSE and jail roofs are both under warranty with Boren’s Roofing. The 15-year warranty for the jail has five years remaining and the 20-year warranty for the courthouse has two years remaining.
At the commission meeting in late April, Boren said that work was completed on the roof at the end of March. They had removed old sealant and replaced it with new sealant, as well as resealed some windows that are located in the area of the leak.
Commissioner John Brocker added that Boren had mentioned he believes the leak is coming through a wall. “We need to look at that and I want to get a clarification on that,” said Brocker. “Maybe we need to be sealing the wall outside to keep it from coming in.”
“Regardless of that, they were hired to fix a problem and they are still under warranty,” said Commissioner Jerry Daniels. “And the problem hasn’t been fixed.”
Daniels pointed out the leak is becoming costly.
“We’re replacing ceiling tiles when we could be replacing computer equipment,” he said.
Morrison noted ths week’s rains appear only to have soaked a printer, “but I covered it up,” she said, before it appears to have incurred damage.
Morrison’s equipment has already been replaced twice due to the leaky roof.
“If you have a warranty on this roof, it might be time to get that honored,” she added.
“I suggest we get bids from other companies — soon,” said Daniels. “Just for this specific problem and we can discuss it next week, pick a bidder, and get it fixed.” Daniels noted that County Counsel Bob Johnson could have discussions about resolving the roof warranty. “We need to get it fixed — even if it’s somebody else doing it,” he added.
Commissioner David Lee added that another set of eyes on the issue may be beneficial. “Somebody else may have a better idea of how to fix it,” he suggested.
