Newly renovated Woodbourne Library now needs $220k in roof repairs

Woodbourne Library in Centerville, which recently underwent a $5.8 million renovation, now needs $220,000 in repairs to a leaking roof on an older portion of the building.

Woodbourne is a branch of the Washington-Centerville Public Library and is located at 6060 Far Hills Avenue, just south of Whipp Road. The 2016 renovation added an additional 10,000 square feet to the existing 21,000-square-foot site at the facility.

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Deputy Fiscal Officer Cindy Uttermohlen said the roof is leaking profusely where an older and new roof portion met on the north side of the building.

The library’s board discussed the roof before construction began on the addition and renovation of the building. It was determined that the section in between the two roofs that was under warranty had about 25 percent of its life left so a decision was made to hold off on a roof replacement.

Following damage done by the leaking roof, the board decided in January to put out a bid to have it fixed. BK Contracting was awarded the bid at a cost of $220,000 for the partial roof replacement.

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Architectural, engineering and surveying services are also part of the contract, as well as, the need for an expeditious fix of the roof.

“Water is not our friend,” Uttermohlen said. “We are hoping to get the work completed in the spring.”

She said the exact cause of what caused the rook to leak hasn’t been determined, but the board discussed the possibility that it could have been caused by subcontractors walking on the roof during the construction project.

The library will remain open during the roof repairs.

In 2015, the library board of trustees approved a more than $5 million master plan that merged the Woodbourne Library property and the two adjacent properties to the north into a single library campus.

Developed by LWC Incorporated with feedback from a series of community forums, the library was temporarily shut down in December 2016 as the renovation took place.

The renovation was designed to provide more opportunities to have both active spaces and learning programs and will also have more space for traditional library services.

Officials wanted to keep the feel of the library’s original 1965 design while updating it for current trends, said Kim Senft-Paras, director, Washington-Centerville Public Library.

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