Berlin Town Council Approves Full Roof Replacement At Willard School

While the Berlin Town Council differed on how to get to the final vote on bonding $1.7 million for a roof replacement for Willard Elementary School, once it got to a vote, it was unanimous.

The motion before the Town Council at their meeting last week was to "waive Rule 7 of the Council Rules and Procedures and adopt “An ordinance appropriating $1,700,000 for the replacement of the Emma Hart Willard Elementary School Roof and authorizing the issue of $1,700,000 bonds of the town to meet said appropriation and pending the issuance thereof the making of temporary borrowings for such purpose.”

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Republicans David Evans and Eric Buhrendorf voted against waving the rule. They have been consistent in voting against waiving bid requests saying that competition and competitive bids help identify savings to the town. Democrats Mayor Adam Salina, Rachel Rochette and Bill Rasmussen all voted to waive Rule 7 to pass the waiver 3-2.

Once the waiver passed, however, it was a unanimous vote to proceed with the bonding and approval of the project, which many would claim is well overdue.

Jacunski Humes Architects will be in charge of doing the work on the roof and a representative on hand at the Council meeting to answer questions. He said that the there is a solid contingency built into the project and that his company had extensive experience in this area. The same company handled the roof replacement at McGee Middle School.

He also added that if the town ever decided to put in solar panels, the materials being used were the best to adapt to that kind of project.

The project is weather sensitive but Jacunski Humes should be able to finish the project before the end of the summer vacation.