Pleasant Valley hears update on Polk roof project

The Pleasant Valley School Board directors were updated on the progress of the Polk Elementary roof restoration project at the Building and Grounds Committee meeting on Monday night.

William Gasper, director of operations, told them if the proposal passes at the school board’s next meeting on Thursday, then he expects work will begin in April.

School board Director Susan Kresge asked him how long the restoration would take.

“This is early on in April. If we have a full crew working on it, it should take two to three weeks,” he said.

Before restoration to the roof can begin, there is some initial work that has to be completed. Gasper said a roof drain will need to be installed to take care of water that has been ponding on the roof. The next item is some leaks.

“We have some small leaks in it, nothing major,” Gasper said.

The roof has three wet spots with minor infiltration into the insulation. The insulation will have to be removed, replaced and a patch placed over them.

The parapet wall also has some cracks in the coating that allows water to leak into the building. Gasper said he thought it could be fixed by removing the bubbling, cracking coating and patch it, but he doesn’t think that will hold up over time. Instead, he plans to place panels over the cracks that will go down to the roof flashing.

After these fixes are completed, the roof restoration project will be completed in three steps. The first step is a primer, followed by a base with a membrane incorporated into it, and then a white coating to finish it.

Gasper said the project bid came in higher than the bond fund, which is $510,000. A bid from Tremco came in at $563,000. The company has done this same type of work for the school district on the high school and intermediate school.

“They do all of our roofs, why can’t they give us a better deal,” asked school board Director Laura Jecker.

Gasper explained that the cost is in line with COSTARS, which is the state’s cooperative purchasing program. He said both material and labor costs went up on April 1, 2019. The cost of materials increased 5 percent and labor went up 3 percent. Roofing material is expected to increase another 7 percent in June.

“The longer we wait, the higher it’s going to go up,” he said.

Gasper recommended that the school board accept the payout schedule the way Tremco stated it in their proposal.

“It will save you $11,000 right off the bat,” he said.

In other business, Gasper said he has two applicants for the new full-time custodial position approved in February.

The person would work at the Polk Elementary building part-time and in other areas of the district part-time. Gasper would like to have more help at the Pleasant Valley Elementary School, where the kindergarten has expanded.

At the school board meeting in February, the majority of the directors struck down hiring Roland Steele for the position. Donna Yozwiak, president of the school board, said that Steele is a current employee. The position was newly created with the intent of hiring someone new from the community. Roland works in the custodial department at Pleasant Valley Intermediate School.

Gasper’s second recommendation for the position will go before the board at the March 26 meeting.