Wayne Allen | Community Common

Phil Lajoye, Scioto County Courthouse Maintenance Supervisor, explains how a portion of the roof on the Scioto County Courthouse was installed down.

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Wayne Allen

Common Staff Writer

Mike Crabtree, Chairman of the Scioto County Commissioners said on Tuesday the roof project on the county courthouse could be done as soon as next week.

He also said possible first steps in the renovation of the fourth floor are also being explored.

When it comes to the roof Crabtree said, crews have found “a considerable amount of deterioration of the material underneath the rubber (on the roof).”

He said the crews have been taking deteriorated materials from the roof on their shoulders, by the bag full.

“It’s (the project) run into a little more effort on their part than they (Five Star Commercial Roofing) thought, but that’s part of the deal,” Crabtree said.

He said the good news is that the roof is getting fixed.

When asked about a timeframe moving forward, Crabtree said, “I’ve heard they may be done at the end of the week but, I think it will run into next week.”

He acknowledged the project has been a bit controversial since its beginning but, acknowledged it would have been more controversial if nothing had been done.

He said since the project began the county has been proactive in looking to fix places within the building that’s been leaking.

“We’ve taken some measures to improve the situation on the roof. We’ve replaced the old style vents that were catching a lot of wind. They have been replaced with modern vents that are much less prone with wind damage,” Crabtree said.

He said a lot of the places on the fourth floor that held water when the roof leaked are now dry.

Crabtree said the downspouts that caused the offices of Fourth District Court of Appeals Judge Matthew McFarland to flood are now being inspected daily, to make sure no debris have gotten in.

“When the job is done and the new roof is down, the downspouts will be cleaned out,” Crabtree said. “Once we do that, those problems should be eliminated. When it’s all said and done I think we’ll see a great deal of improvement in the courthouse.”

Because of the condition of the roof, the fourth floor of the building has for the most part has been uninhabited.

Crabtree said, someone will be coming in late this week to look at the remains of the former jail to see what can be recycled.

“We are going to have them look at how much they can salvage and how much it would off set the cost of taking it out,” Crabtree said.

When asked if removing the recyclable items could be the first step towards starting a renovation project on the fourth floor, Crabtree said, “It can be. It really depends on what kind of numbers they give us. We have to look at our options and see what we can and can not do.”

He said before any renovation project can be started those items would have to removed anyway.

Wayne Allen may be reached at 740-353-1151, or tallen@civitasmedia.com. For breaking news, follow Wayne on Twitter @WayneallenPDT.