FAIRHOPE – Work will begin soon to repair the roof on the Fairhope K-1 center following action by the City Council.
The council voted Monday, Aug. 10, to accept the bid of Roof Doctors of Magnolia Springs to repair the roof of the 90-year-old building. The Roof Doctors bid was $36,600. The Roof Doctors bid was the lower of two bids received by the city, Ricard Johnson, public works director, told council members.
Johnson said city officials had hoped to get more bids but decided to go ahead and get the work done after receiving two.
“This has been long awaited,” Johnson said. “We had been waiting and the council president was gracious enough to say don’t wait for a third quote. Get us the two before you, but this is to fix the roof at the K-1 Center and you see the low price there to do that.”
The city had budgeted $135,000 for repairs to the center, but Johnson said that total included money to be set aside in case other repairs are needed.
Fairhope bought the school campus on Church Street in July 2019. The city paid the Baldwin County Board of Education $2.5 million for the site and other property.
A study in October found that the buildings were in good condition, but some roof leaks were found.
The estimate to replace the entire roof was $211,800. Council members voted instead to approve repairs to the existing roof.
The repair bid calls for all leaks to be fixed on the main building. Other work will include replacing all missing shingles, repairing around all pipes and vents, repairing holes on the north side of the building caused by tree damage and repairing or replacing flashing.
The school on Church Street was built in 1925. It was closed in 2011. City officials said they were considering how to use the site, but one proposed use could be as an art center.
The council also voted Aug. 10 to accept a bid for repairs to the stage at the Civic Center. Seale Quality Construction and Renovation was the low bidder with a submission of $45,250. The bid was almost $25,000 less than the budgeted amount of $70,000, Councilman Jay Robinson said.
