Building’s roof gets long-discussed repairs
Staff writer
More than three months after Hillsboro City Council members voted to authorize the city to have repairs made to the roof of a downtown Hillsboro building, and after the owner hired a contractor to do work deemed unacceptable, repair of the roof got unde way this week.
The building at 101 S. Main St., owned by George Yang, is being repaired by contractor Mahaney Roofing.
Mahaney was hired by the city after Yang had his own contractor work on the roof, but building inspector Ben Steketee deemed the work unacceptable.
“It was determined that the masonry repairs were sufficient and the barricades around the building were removed,” city administrator Matt Stiles told council members Tuesday. “The roof repairs were not acceptably completed. Water was visibly coming into the building, indicating the building envelope was not weather tight.”
Mahaney estimated the additional work at $3,820.
Stiles predicted that the roof would eventually need more extensive work.
“What we’re doing is not solving the underlying problem,” Stiles said. “What we’re doing is extending the life of the roof for a couple of years.”
The building actually needs the roof replaced instead of repaired, Stiles said.
The city will send an invoice to Yang after Mananey finishes the work. If Yang doesn’t pay the bill, the city will assess a tax lien.
In other matters, city council members:
- Listened to a presentation from Johnson Service Co. about relining and cleaning sewer mains, then voted to hire the company to reline sewer mains at a cost of $247,326 and to clean the sewer system at a cost of $18,500.
- Discussed setting priorities for equipment replacement. In Stiles’ assessment, several items are in critical need of replacement, including a residential trash truck, a mower, a boom sprayer, a tandem-axel dump truck, and a single-axel dump truck. Stiles estimated the total cost at as much as $536,931.
- Reviewed accomplishments of 2022 and the city’s strategic plan.