By ANDREA POTEET
Sunday Times Newspapers
ALLEN PARK – Long-awaited repairs to the city hall and police building soon may become a reality.
The city council approved Tuesday for up to $5,000 in emergency repairs to the building’s roof.
The repairs include repairing seams in the roof over the police station, and Information Technology and Engineering departments, the three worst areas of the roof. Drug forfeiture and bond account funds will be used to pay for the repairs.
Without the repairs, water will continue to run into the Police Department when it rains, Councilman Bob Keenan said.
Many more repairs are needed but the cash-strapped city doesn’t have the funds for them.
City Administrator John Zech said a recent thermal imaging scan by the Garland Company consulting firm found water in the roof over the Finance Department, the clerk’s office, council chambers and the former courtroom in the City Hall building. Repairs to all troubled areas would cost millions of dollars and require bringing the roof up to code.
Current state codes limit the number of roofs over a structure to two, while areas of City Hall have various levels of roof, ranging from one in some areas to three in others, Zech said.
The city has owned the building, a former church since the 70s and its roof dates back at least that far.