Roof leaks at golf course clubhouse creating dilemma for Dundee Township Park District

The roof of the clubhouse at the Bonnie Dundee Golf Club is in such bad shape that 12 buckets were needed to catch leaks during a heavy rainstorm earlier this summer, officials said.

“It’s been leaking for years,” Dundee Township Park District Executive Director Dave Peterson said at the park board’s Wednesday meeting. “This year seems to be the worst we’ve experienced.”

The question is whether a new roof should be installed, the old roof temporarily fixed or the situation left as is while the district plans to replace the 102-year-old clubhouse in Carpentersville sometime in the next five years, Peterson said.

“The roof has needed to be repaired or replaced for some years now,” he said. “We’re trying to put together a solution to put as little money as possible (into it) in case we do replace that clubhouse in the future.”

Ripping off the existing roof and putting on new shingles would cost about $36,000, according to district documents.

Another option would be to install “roll roofing,” which is a base mat of organic felt or fiberglass covered by asphalt roofing material that can be placed on top of an existing roof, according to theroofingbrief.com. A roll would cover about 100 square feet.

A contractor who consulted with board Commissioner Frank Scarpelli about it estimated it could be done for about $4,500 and would last about five years, Scarpelli said.

“The flat roof did not need to be replaced. He thought the flat roof looked like it was in good shape, other than a few areas,” he said.

But does it make sense to put more money into the building, Commissioner John Meschewski asked.

“We just keep putting Band-Aid after Band-Aid on a 100-year-old building,” he said.

While the roof hasn’t leaked during the last few rainstorms, the district needs to find a solution soon, Peterson said.

“We will continue to look at this, and if (the roll roof) is a viable situation, we would go in that direction,” Peterson said.

A new Bonnie Dundee clubhouse is just one of the district’s capital improvement needs. Officials also would like to build a new outdoor pool or aquatic center to replace the Sleepy Hollow pool, which closed several years ago. At a board meeting earlier this summer, Peterson said the district’s capital needs aren’t being met annually by the property tax revenue it’s collecting.

Last year officials discussed asking voters to approve a tax referendum to pay for the pool, clubhouse and other needs, but the idea has been put on hold.

“We are not doing any referendum any time soon,” Peterson said.

Instead, the district is doing a fiscal sustainability study to get a handle on its finances, create new policies, update fees and help determine how to fund capital projects, he said.

“We want to make sure we have a sound process in place to take care of what we currently own before we can build anything significant,” he said. “This financial sustainability (study) is a step in that direction.”

Commissioners are expected to review the study at their Sept. 16 meeting, when more details will be made available.

Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The (Elgin) Courier-News.