PALM HARBOR – The needed repair to the leaking roof of The Centre of Palm Harbor will be more than twice as expensive as previously estimated.
After agreeing to pay half the costs of the repairs, the Pinellas County completed a comprehensive study on the roof to estimate final costs, Centre director Erica Lynford explained to Palm Harbor Community Services Agency Nov. 28.
“(They) found out that, shockingly, it’s worse than they thought,” she said. “In order to replace roof as it is with the metal, it would be upwards of over a quarter million dollars. And of course the county doesn’t have that money and neither do we.”
The county proposed to pay for half of the cost of a 20-year shingle roof instead of replacing the metal one. The original cost of the project was $52,000, but now could be as much as $125,000.
The county built the Centre building, located at 1500 16th St., and has admitted that the leaks stem from a problem with installation, Lynford said. County government has agreed to fund half of the cost of repairs, fronting the total bill and allowing The Centre to pay back its half over the next five years.
Lynford presented the change in the estimate to get funding approval from the agency. The Centre’s half will come from its replacement and renewal fund, which Lynford recently supplemented with additional tax revenue.
The construction project was slated to go to bid this month, with the hopes of starting the repairs in January, Lynford said.
Holiday bonuses
Lynford also asked the agency for approval to give her staff holiday bonuses. Full time employees were to receive $300 and part time employees $150, for a total cost of $4,900.
Palm Harbor Parks and Recreation was the only one of three entities served by the Palm Harbor Community Services Agency to not give across-the-board raises this year. The entity did give raises last year, based on a percentage of their salary.
Lynford said she did budget for up to a merit-based bonus at the time of each employee’s review, up to 3 percent.
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