By Staff
Project will be donein three-phase effort
By GREG KATSKI
Staff Writer
BELHAVEN — Replacement of the Belhaven Volunteer Fire and Rescue station’s worn and weathered roof is a dire necessity, said Art Swords, owner and chief architect of Arthur Swords Architects, who recently surveyed the roof for the town.
Swords shared his assessment of the station’s roof with the Belhaven Town Council at its meeting Monday.
Following his recommendation, the council voted to begin repairs to the station’s south-side roof. The council gave Town Manager Guinn Leverett permission to move forward with the assessment of additional repairs to the station’s roof.
Swords said the south-side roof, best viewed from the front of the station on Haslin Street, is “rotten.”
While Swords was conducting his survey with Belhaven Planning and Development Director Marty Overholt, he stepped through a particularly rotten part of the south-side roof.
Overholt called the roof “extremely brittle.”
The hole made by Overholt was in addition to similar hole that has been repeatedly patched during recent years.
Regarding his misstep, Swords said the south-side roof must be stripped of its sheathing and replaced as soon as possible.
Swords and Overholt agreed that a shed-type roof could be installed temporarily.
Overholt said the temporary roof would be cost-efficient and provide sufficient shelter until a permanent roof is placed on the entire station.
Swords also cited issues with the main roof of the building.
Although not an immediate concern, he said, the main roof needs more structural support.
The aforementioned repairs are considered the first two phases of the station’s roof-repair project, according to Leverett. The third and final phase is the placement of a custom-made metal roof over the entire station’s existing roof.
The town will conduct an informal bid procedure for phases one and two and hopes to find a “competent contractor,” said Leverett.
Phase three will be formally bid on, he said.
Swords said a metal roof will last “pretty much forever.”
Leverett commended Swords for his survey.
Mayor Adam O’Neal echoed Leverett’s sentiments.