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The Windsor Town Council voted 5-0 on April 8 to authorize the town manager to enter into an agreement with a building enclosure consulting and engineering firm for the administration of a project to replace the roof of Windsor Town Hall.

The vote tally on the matter did not reach six because Councilman Edward “Gibbie” Dowdy was not present.

Windsor Town Manager William Saunders noted at the April 8 council meeting that it had come to light that the town’s municipal building needed a roof replacement and other exterior repairs.

“Due to evidence of issues with the roof and exterior of the municipal building, Building Envelope and Roof (BEaR) Engineers were commissioned to perform a survey of the structure,” he said. 

Included in the April 8 meeting packet, BEaR’s survey indicated that BEaR Engineers Inc. was requested by the town of Windsor to perform a cursory visual assessment of the existing low slope single ply membrane roof systems, exterior walls and structural roof framing of the Town Hall facility located at 8 E. Windsor Blvd. in Windsor.

Saunders said, “BEaR Engineers determined that a roof replacement is in order and that much of the damage to the exterior brick veneer is due to the roof membrane’s improper installation; other causes include rusting lintels above the windows and potential settling of the ground at the righthand rear due to leaking stormwater conveyances.”

Saunders said the report also itemized other recommended repairs to the exterior.

“BEaR provided an estimate which includes design work for the roof replacement and repairs as well as bid documents, administration of the solicitation, construction administration and quality assurance administration,” he said.

Saunders later expanded on what BEaR Engineers proposes to do for $20,211.

“What this does, this ($20,211) is — we’re telling them to go ahead, design the roof, and bid it out, work with us for getting the bids and compare the bids, choosing a winning bidder, and the contracting,” he said. “And then once the work begins, they’ll administer that project as the project manager, and then they will do the quality assurance inspections as the work is going on.

“So that ($20,211) is soup to nuts for the engineers to do everything related, similar to the way we did the Windsor Town Center roof, and one of these engineers is the same person we worked with on that, and we were pleased with his work,” Saunders added.

Councilman Walter Bernacki asked Windsor Town Attorney Fred Taylor if he had had a chance to review the contract document and if he felt it was worded adequately to protect the town’s interests.

“Yes, sir, I have had an opportunity to review, and yes,” Taylor said.

Councilman David Adams asked Saunders if the $20,211 was coming from unappropriated fund balance or a separate line item, and Saunders indicated there was plenty in an existing line item to cover the cost.

“At this time, we won’t know if the work’s going to be done in this fiscal year or the next fiscal year,” Saunders said. “There’s $110,000 in this line item right now, which is more than enough to cover the administration part. It just depends on which budget we need to put the construction to make sure there’s enough for the full construction.”

Saunders noted that BEaR Engineers also provided an estimated cost of construction, but he said that amount is not for public consumption at this juncture.