LAKE COUNTY — The Lake County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to help the Lucerne Senior Center with much-needed repairs to its roof. The decision met with a round of applause and cheers from a crowd of about 40 people.
Lake County Redevelopment Agency (RDA) deputy director Eric Seely told the supervisors, sitting as the agency”s board of directors, that the building”s roof was the “most pressing” of other needed improvements. The cost to do temporary repairs for the winter was estimated at $4,000, and long-term repairs are estimated to cost around $30,000, according to Seely.
“There are multiple leaks in the roof which are saturating the plaster on the ceiling and walls, causing sections to fall off and exposing the bare lath boards,” RDA director Kelly Cox told the board. “Since the center is used for preparation and serving of meals, this situation obviously calls for immediate attention and correction.”
“I”d like to point out that almost the whole town of Lucerne is here, and organizations that use the center regularly from around Lake County,” District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing said. “This community and the senior center have had a difficult history. Those who care about the community care about the center ? it”s central to the community of Lucerne and it is the only space used by multiple organizations.”
Seely told the board that putting a tarp over the roof”s problem areas was not a possible solution. “There are two types of roofing, here,” Seely said. “There is the sloped roof that has the composite asphalt shingle, and the flat roof portion ? about 6,000 square feet ? that all needs to come up and be replaced. The water is routed into two central gutters, and if we put in a tarp, the water would just fill the tarp and make a big tub.” Seely estimated Wednesday that the building is 8,000 square feet.
The flat portion of the roof is covered with rolled asphalt, something Seely said is typically used on carports and smaller, sloped portions of roofing. He said it will likely be replaced with layers of hot tar. “On this roof, if there”s one imperfection, water can get in between the layers. With the hot mop, because there would be three or four plies, each glued together with hot tar, water can”t just run down until it finds a spot to get through. This would be more durable.”
Seely said the roof repairs were one of four areas found in need of repair in the building, and would prevent further damage. Built in 1930, the building is structurally sound, according to Seely. “Worst case, we have a mold issue, but I”m not sure what would entail. I”m fairly optimistic that we not mold problem, but I”m not the expert.
“We just did a cursory inspection of the building, and there appear to be deficiencies in the electrical and in the heating and cooling systems, and in the insulation or energy efficiency, doors and windows, and then the lack of insulation in the building,” Seely said.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
