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ADRIAN O'HANLON III | Staff photo
Pittsburg County commissioners say they're pursuing roof repairs as air conditioning installation has been delayed at the Southeast Expo Center.
ADRIAN O'HANLON III | Staff photo
Pittsburg County commissioners say they're pursuing roof repairs as air conditioning installation has been delayed at the Southeast Expo Center.
Pittsburg County commissioner are seeing progress on renovations to the Southeast Expo Center, approving another payment for the ongoing roof work.
Commissioners voted Monday to approve Pay Application No. 2 for $192,000 to the Martin Roofing Co. for the Expo Center roofing project.
Recent work includes sealing seams in the roofing materials.
"They're getting ready to put on the clear coat," said Pittsburg County Commission Chairman / District 2 Commissioner Kevin Smith, referring to a clear paint that will be used to coat the roof.
The project does not require all of the current roof to be removed from the building or for the installation of a brand new roof. Instead, it requires the current roof to be reinforced.
Included in the project is removal of the roof's skylights. Smith said Monday the skylights have been removed and the openings that were left have now been covered by sheet metal.
It may be a little darker now inside the Expo Center without the skylights if the inside lights are not on, but it will also be drier because of the elimination of the leaks, Smith noted.
Skylights had trouble holding up under weather conditions such as hail storms, he said.
Smith said he looked at a skylight that had been removed from the Expo Center roof. It didn't have any large breaks or holes, but it did have some smaller ones, still big enough to let moisture through. Some were cracked, he said.
Through the ongoing work, all seams and screws, along with other parts of the roof, are to be covered by an epoxy-like thick membrane coating, consisting of a group of chemical compounds used for coatings and adhesives in construction work.
A date has not been finalized for the project's completion.
Smith said coating materials can only be applied at a certain temperature, so some work has been delayed by the weather. As the days get warmer, the times the sealant can be applied will increase, he said.
District 1 Commissioner Charlie Rogers and Ross Selman, District 3, joined Smith in Monday's unanimous vote approving the latest payment to Martin Roofing.
Commissioners voted in November 2021 to accept a $740,000 bid from Martin Roofing and to award the company the roofing project, the first major project at the Expo Center using American Rescue Plan Act funds.
Smith said the roof needed to be repaired ahead of other Expo Center projects, because water from a leaky roof could ruin things inside the building.
Meanwhile, commissioners are still awaiting more requests for proposals to provide updated HVAC services at the Expo Center, to provide air conditioning throughout the large building.
While the east part has air conditioning, the larger space on the west side that's been used for activities such as concerts, rodeos and basketball games still has none.
When some of the early price quotes came in higher than expected, commissioners put out an additional request for quotes from other venders. They hoped to get more this week.
Smith said engineering for the HVAC portion of the project has already been completed and can be presented to whatever contractor gets the job.
"We can supply them the engineering," Smith said. Or, the commissioners could purchase the needed HVAC equipment themselves and hire someone to do the installation, he said.
Commissioners sought an engineering report in part to determine the reason for temperature differentials in different parts of the Pittsburg County Courthouse, with some offices extremely warm while others are cold. The idea is for the engineering report to resolve the problem before the purchase and installation of any needed new HVAC units or other equipment.
They previously passed a resolution in August 2021 calling for upgrades and repairs to the air conditioning and heating system at the Expo Center to be paid for with American Rescue Plans Act funds issued by the federal government as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pittsburg County is receiving a total of $8,429,278 in American Rescue Plan funds.
When county commissioners reviewed requirements on how the money can be spent, they decided the Expo Center qualifies. It's been used as a staging area for a number of COVID-19 outreach vaccination clinics. The Southeast Expo Center is also included in emergency management plans in Pittsburg County. It's also designated as a COVID-19 testing facility and, if needed, can be used as a field hospital.
Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com.
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