By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com

It’s not quite back to the drawing board for the courthouse roof but the deadline is looming for the Crawford County Commissioners to make a decision.

All three commissioners were in session when they met with architect Bruce Heinlen of Felty-Heinlen Architects and Planners, Inc. Tuesday morning. It has been a long process as the commissioners cautiously laid out plans to fix the long-overdue issues with the county courthouse roof, dome, and clock tower.

Tuesday’s meeting once again addressed the options available to the commissioners, this time with a comparison of a metal and a rubber roof. The proposed rubber, or membrane, roof plan would cost $969,200 and the proposed metal roof plan would cost $1,023,500.

Going in to the meeting, the commissioners had been proponents of a metal roof with Commissioner Jenny Vermillion advocating for a pitched roof. Heinlen cautioned the commissioners, however, on the issues they could be faced with should they choose a pitched, metal roof.

A metal roof would expand and contract, leaving the potential for leaks to develop over time.

“It’s inevitable with the product,” Heinlen said.

Facilities manager David Weir was quick to point out that water would eventually find its way around any type of material.

“I still question whether the metal roof is a good system,” Heinlen told the commissioners. “I really don’t know if that’s a good application up there with all the different configurations.”

Heinlen was especially concerned about trying to bend the metal around all the nooks and crannies and eventually using flashing to fill in all the gaps. Flashing is what is causing the leaking with the current roof.

Heinlen seemed very hesitant in pushing the commissioners forward with a metal roof, even though he chose a higher quality metal that would get the county the maximum lifetime cost out of it.

“I prefer to go with stuff that’s going to work and won’t create problems down the road,” Heinlen said, “but it’s your call.”

With a nearly $55,000 difference, Commissioner Doug Weisenauer said he would rather take his chances with a metal roof.

“I’m only cautioning you in that regard,” said Heinlen.

Commissioner Steve Reinhard expressed his concern with keeping the leaks to a minimum with flashing. Weir pointed to the continuing issues the county jail faced when it came to flashing and leaks.

After listening to Heinlen’s proposals, Vermillion backed away a bit from a pitched roof. “I am wavering now on what to do,” said Vermillion. “None of us are experts and we have to rely on the experts.”

Vermillion added that they already know the problems the flat roof has given the county over the years but the pitched roof issues remained a bit of an unknown.

Weir said they were all reserved on the idea because they were attempting to try something different.

The commissioners decided not to make a hasty decision even though the timeline to submit bids was less than two weeks away.

“We’ve got enough set aside right now for work on the dome and the clock tower,” Weisenauer said. If they couldn’t come to a decision in the near future on the fate of the roof, he said they could at least patch the areas that needed immediate attention.

The commissioners will be setting a meeting with Heinlen to discuss the matter further.