By ZEINAB NAJM
Times-Herald Newspapers
HEIGHTS — Work to repair the City Hall roof is making progress with the approval of a new bid to complete the much-needed project.
The $98,510 bid from Led Lion passed unanimously during the Feb. 8 City Council meeting. Councilman Ray Muscat was absent.
Included in the price is $36,472 for materials, $25,200 for roof service and $804 for snow removal.
A previous project bid award for AA Eldaou at $76,500 was rescinded; that contract was never signed. The city received three estimates and chose Led Lion.
During the meeting, City Engineer Ali Dib explained the project was bid several times, with the issue being the lack of availability of material. He said the agreement with Led Lion is a minimum 5 years, including a warranty against the roof leakage.
According to a letter from Dib to the council, Led Lion was selected after review of proposals and in light of the current state of the industry and availability of material.
Led Lion already has completed work on half of the roof, including removing snow manually.
The roof at city hall has leaked multiple times, most recently after heavy rainfall last June. Water leaked into the city clerk’s and treasurer’s offices.
When asked by Councilman Tom Wencel if the project entails the roof being covered by solid, full overlay of panels Dib said it is a full overlay over the board.
“It’s a hard board that goes under the brand new membrane to prevent and channel water away from the roof and into the roof drain, and that’s what we did,” Dib said.
The repair project includes the entire city hall roof except the part over the council chambers because that is newer and in good shape.
Council Chairman Dave Abdallah asked Dib if the bid process and the project is a repair or a complete replacement of the roof.
Dib said the last contractor to which the city had previously awarded the bid — AA Eldaou — didn’t agree with the format.
Dib went on to explain that the cost for a full replacement of the roof is prohibitive and that the city could be looking at a multi-million dollar project.
“It is a good system that will give you a solid, no-leak roofing system without the expense of having to deal with a deck because the deck is old and the building is old,” he said.
To watch council meetings go to the City of Dearborn Heights YouTube page.
(Zeinab Najm can be reached at [email protected].)