Glen Ellyn Park District OKs temporary roof repair
Glen Ellyn Park District officials have decided on a temporary solution to fix the leaking roof at the Ackerman Sports & Fitness Center.
The park board late Tuesday endorsed a plan that authorizes installation of a winter covering on the metal roof's four corners, which have been the primary sources of leakage since the $11.2 million, 88,000-square-foot facility opened in January 2010.
The work will be performed by Glenview-based L. Marshall Roofing and Sheet Metal at a price of $10,540.
The roof rehab includes installation of sealant at the open seams of the roof corners and spraying of a water-based elastomeric roof coating made by GAF, a roofing product manufacturer.
Park Board President Melissa Creech said the repairs won't solve all roof problems, but they would mitigate the worst leakage that occurs in the winter. Meanwhile, consultants from Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc. are now preparing bid documents for permanent roof repairs, Creech said.
The temporary repair work is expected to be complete within seven days, officials said.
Since the roof leaks began, board members have met in closed sessions to discuss the roof leaks. In June, the park board voted to terminate contracts with the three companies hired to do work on the facility, citing a breach of contracts.
But the contractors have argued that park district officials prevented them from finishing work on the roof.
Now it appears the matter is headed to court.
T.A. Bowman Constructors, the firm hired to build Ackerman, filed a breach of contract complaint in DuPage County circuit court last month that seeks $161,482.30, plus interest and the costs of the suit, from the park district.
Company owner Tom Bowman said that is the amount his firm is still owed for work at Ackerman. On Tuesday, park district officials announced they would file a countersuit.
“It is unfortunate that our contractor has chosen to litigate this issue,” Creech said. “In response, the park district will be looking to hold those parties who caused the roof deficiencies responsible.”
The T.A. Bowman complaint states that work on Ackerman was “substantially completed” in December 2009, and the park district brought the leaking roof to T.A. Bowman's attention Jan. 11, 2010. The company requested permission to inspect the roof so it could make any modifications for which it was responsible, but the park district ordered work to be suspended, according to the complaint.
In a statement released Tuesday, park district officials said, “The contractors were unwilling to participate in an acceptable permanent solution to the roof problems.”
Bowman said the park board's decision to authorize a temporary roof fix voids a 30-year material warranty and 20-year water tightness warranty for the roof.
He called it an “aftermarket, old building fix.”
“When you have a brand-new building and a 20-year and 30-year warranty, you don't want to spray stuff on it,” Bowman said.