Substandard work on River Falls Town Hall needs to be redone

• River Falls Town Hall

Gretta Stark photo

Talk about it

Another Town of River Falls board meeting was spent touring the Town Hall discussing repairs.

The work in question had been put to bid. Contractor Todd Holmes was hired to perform the repairs.

Upon completing some of the work, the Town Board revoked its contract with Holmes.

Building and construction experts attended the July 18 Town Board meeting to give advice and evaluate the status of the repair work.

Holmes had been contracted to perform tuck-pointing on the Town Hall foundation, as well as re-shingle the roof and remove the chimney.

After paying Holmes $3,500 for foundation work, an amount over the $3,400 bid, the board claimed his work was not up to the standards it expected.

Town Attorney Bob Loberg has written a letter to Holmes requesting the money be returned. Holmes refused and the town will be looking at a lawsuit to get its money back.

Present at the meeting was Doug Peterson of Peterson Construction Services.

He presented the board with a bid to redo the tuck pointing on the foundation. For a total of $4,250, Peterson will remove the failing mortar and reapply it. He will also replace the basement windows with glass block.

Town Board Supervisor Brad Mogen asked, “Will we be exceeding our fund?”

Chairwoman Diana Smith assured him there was enough there.

The board approved $5,000 for the fixing of the Town Hall foundation. Supervisor Tom Sitz will follow up with Loberg about recovering the money from Holmes.

Since Holmes was no longer contracted to do the roof, other bids were sought. The board received bids for an asphalt shingle roof. Supervisor LeRoy Kusilek thought the board should look into a steel roof.

Smith had previous objections to this due to the time-table. Since the time-table is now gone, she saw no reason not to discuss it.

Mogen pointed out, “We are in no giant hurry. We can get a bid and look at steel.”

Maintenance Department Supervisor Brian Weber felt the cost was comparable for the “cheap style.”

The board discussed the different styles of steel but there was some concern about the cost.

Kusilek felt sheet steel would be a good choice.

“Once it’s up, your done with it,” he said.

Smith still is opposed to a steel roof, saying, “It does not preserve the building. This is a 110-year-old building. It should look like a well-maintained 110-year-old building.”

She went on to say, “I am against this looking like a pole shed.”

Kusilek would like to look further into the steel roof option. Mogen felt since they were not in a hurry, the board should at least consider that option.

Weber will contact the companies that submitted bids for the asphalt roofs to inquire about steel roofing.

The board approved the site plan for lot 6 in the Light Industrial Park on Hwy. 65 for Joel Cordes, of Lake and Pond Aeration. A building permit was issued and construction will begin immediately.

Tags: town of river falls, communities, government