Unwanted Water Still Troubles Commissioners

By MARK EVANS

STE. GENEVIEVE HERALD

Keeping water out of places it is not supposed to be has become a big concern for the Ste. Genevieve County commission.

For one, the commissioners are dealing with the courthouse basement, where water often gets in and has caused mildew problems.

Then, of course there is the seemingly never-ending saga of the community center roof, which still leaks.

After receiving bids from Renodry, Woods Basement Service and two bids from Helo-Tech, the commissioners opted to go with Woods to deal with the basement.

Woods bid $8,000 to take care of the water and mildew problem. They will dig trenches as part of the solution. Renodry also made a proposal, using a patented drying system that supposedly can avoid digging or breaking out concrete, for $14,200.

Meanwhile, Helo-Tech submitted bids of $12,525 and $14,339, which included some options Woods did not provide. The higher of the two Helo-Tech bids included a dehumidifier.

After comparing the bids, the commissioners voted to give the contract to Woods Basement Service. A call to the company found that they would be able to start on the job quickly.

A new issue has emerged, since old heaters, piping, wiring and other obsolete items have been removed. This exposed a hole, where an old chimney used to run. Plans had been made to put insulation in it. However, water has been coming in through it. The old chimney will apparently have to be capped

There were also sections of old paneling in the basement that will need to be removed before Woods begins work. It has covered up areas of dampness and mildew.

On the subject of the community center roof, Presiding Commissioner Randy Ruzicka got a representative of Grayco Roofing Consultants, the projects construction manager at risk, on the phone. Leaking has continued, even after the roof work was supposedly virtually done.

He was told that Bade Roofing, one of the sub-contractors, had had a person on the roof, working on it the previous week. This, however, was without the knowledge of the commissioners Brad Arnold, community center director or his staff. This led to a discussion that a stipulation needs to be added to future contracts that contractors must inform the county when they will have personnel on roofs of county buildings ahead of time, for safety and liability reasons.

Ruzicka has publicly stated that the contractors will not get paid until the county is satisfied the roof no longer leaks. He proposed an on-site meeting with Grayco, Bade and other involved contractors.

Meanwhile, C & R Mechanical of Bridgeton, Mo., submitted a whopping bid of $123,204 to replace bowls and piping over wet areas of the roof.

EXPLAINING POLICY

The commissioners once again explained how it approaches roads. A caller from Heritage Hills Drive, a private road in a subdivision, had called, asking about the possibility of the county taking over maintenance of the road.

Ruzicka explained that a legal process would have to take place, in which every resident on the road would have to sign a petition. It would take at least six months.

Meanwhile, the road would have to be brought up to county specs for base, width and drainage before the commissioners could consider taking over ownership. He also noted that if this were to happen, it would become a public road and residents could not stop anyone from using it.

The commissioners also agreed to hold a work session soon to update wording in the county road spec policy.