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Review board decides to keep the lid on
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - November 23, 2011)
Review board decides to keep the lid on
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
What goes up doesn't always come down.
Burton Village's historic district architectural review board, which could have ordered the removal of roof work done on the Burton Fire Station, agreed last week to allow the roof to stay.
The board voted 3-1 to allow the new roof, which is about three-quarters complete, to remain in place.
The fate of the new metal roof was in question because fire officials began the work Nov. 4 without first obtaining a permit from the review board. Alterations to historic buildings in the village's historic district must first meet the approval of the review board. The department eventually filed for the permit Nov. 10.
Burton Fire Chief Michael Sestak met with the board to offer an explanation as to how the project was undertaken without the necessary approval.
Mr. Sestak said it was simply a matter of economics. He said the board of trustees, overseeing the station, went to him, saying that the building at the north end of the town's center square, needed a new roof. He said water was already pouring into the building and was causing damage to floor boards, ceiling tiles and the roof structure itself.
He said the department received three bids. One bid, for $20,000, would have torn off the old shingles and replaced it with new ones. A second bid, for $10,000, would have covered the old shingles with a layer of new ones. The third option, for $11,500, provided a sheet metal roof. The asphalt shingles carried a warranty of 25 years, while the metal roof carried a 40-year warranty, Mr. Sestak said.
Working with taxpayers' money, Mr. Sestak said, the fire department must always choose to be as fiscally responsible with the money as possible. He said the metal roof was the smart choice for the department and taxpayers. "We figured it was a bigger bang for the buck," he said.
The board, earlier in the week, had recommended that council impose a $500 penalty against the fire department for failing to receive a proper permit for the work. Council has the final say what, if any penalty, is assessed.
Board member Kurt Updegraff, who voted against allowing the roof to stay, cited a U.S. secretary of interior's standards for rehabilitation of historic buildings. He said those are the guidelines the board should follow in determining whether alterations made are accepted, especially when changes in the original materials are made.
The fire station, built in 1881, originally had a slate roof. Mr. Updegraff said only asphalt shingles, of similar color to the original slate, should have been used.
Mr. Sestak said the fire department had removed the slate roof in 1986 without any permit from the village, and no one objected.
Mr. Sestak said he apologized for failing to follow proper procedures, but it was in the interest of saving taxpayers' dollars, not an intended front against village rules. Without quick action, the building would have sustained further damage, he said.
Board chairwoman Pat Hauser said, while the fire department failed to follow village ordinances, it did not make sense to make them remove the roof.
"I don't think he should have to tear it off," she said. "It's not what we would have chosen, but at this stage of the game, I don't think he should be made to tear off good materials."
Although the majority of the board agreed to allow the roof to stay, they also maintained that the penalty should be assessed to discourage others from beginning work without proper review.
Councilman Gerald Rouge, who serves as council's representative to the board, said the board needed more than an apology.
"You ignored the ordinance -- there is an ordinance," Mr. Rouge said. "That's like saying, 'I'm going to go through a stop sign, because I'm in a hurry.'"
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