ASHLAND — The Mapleton Board of Education approved repairs for the district’s middle school gym roof at a special meeting Friday, more than seven months after a destructive storm tore through Ashland County and damaged the roof.
High winds and rain from the June storm damaged about half of the roof’s decking and insulation, which was installed in the 1960s. Due to the roof’s age, the entire roof has to be repaired because the roof’s original materials and construction standards are no longer available, superintendent Scott Smith said.
Mapleton’s board of education, along with representatives from its insurance company and the district’s chosen roofing company, M. Smith Roofing of Shelby, decided on a “Garland system” roof that will cost $797,000 at the Friday special meeting.
Before an insurance adjuster conducted structural tests on the roof, initial bids for the project back in July ranged from $328,000 to $361,000.
$100,000 of the roof’s costs will come directly from Mapleton’s permanent improvement fund, district treasurer Katy Wiley said, while the rest will be covered by insurance.
Construction will start at the beginning of the summer, and should take around 8 weeks to complete “if weather is in our favor,” Wiley added.
Since the storm, the gym has been protected by a temporary cover that M. Scott Smith Roofing installed during the summer for $8,462.
