Kurt Mazag (at podium), president of the Allen Park Civic Fund board of directors, announces the award of the $400,000 Ralph C. Wilson Grant at the Dec. 17 city council meeting, which will be used to reroof seven of the eight sections of the Civic Center roof, as Mayor Gail McLeod (left), City Administrator Mark Kibby, City Council members Tony Lalli, Dan Loyd and Pamela Sych, and City Treasurer Maureen Armstrong listen.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
ALLEN PARK – The city was awarded a $400,000 Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation grant to reroof sections of the Civic Center, Kurt Mazag of the Allen Park Citizens Civic Fund announced Tuesday.
Mazag, who is president of the ALCCF board of directors, said at the Dec. 17 City Council meeting that the money was awarded to the Parks and Recreation Department, and that work on seven of the eight sections of the roof is under way.
“We felt it was necessary to hold the announcement until the new city government was seated,” Mazag said.
He said the roof has been in need of repair for some time, and leaks have plagued the ice rink. He said recent repairs to the mechanical room have made the reroofing imperative.
Mazag said the repairs to seven sections, when added to the one relatively new section of roofing, will make the roof stable for the next 30 years, and will drastically reduce the maintenance costs currently associated with maintaining the old roof.
He recognized the work of Ray Tessier, project manager, Parks and Recreation Director Pat Hawkins and Deputy Parks and Recreation Director Rob Fulton as key factors in the project’s success. He said Hawkins and Fulton identified the problem and provided the background research and supportive data.
Mazag also credited ALCCF members Kathy Milberg, Mary Lou Provost, Mary Wallace and Tessier for assembling the data, writing the grant and monitoring the process. He also thanked Malia Xie of the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, whom he credited with successfully guiding the board through the application process.