The proposed Burlington city budget sets aside $272,750 to replace the roof of Burlington Public Works.
In a year with several capital improvement cuts planned, the roof's price tag sticks out. The reason for the big expense, according to Public Works Director Nick MacGregor, is the size.
"It's a lot of square footage," MacGregor said. "It's a 65,000 square foot roof. It's over an acre of roof."
And it leaks. Property Maintenance Manager Breydn Hill said every time there's a heavy storm, they find more leaks. The 17-year-old roof is ballasted and came with a 10-year warranty.
"Once our 10 years was up," Hill said, "it started leaking."
The city has patched various holes over the years. In September, workers patched a 10-foot-by-20-foot area above a room holding servers and computer equipment that was spouting some leaks.
The patches cause their own set of worries, Hill said. As crews walk across the roof it tends to open up more leaks, because of the ballast system. Ballasted roofing isn't anchored down traditionally, but rather is held down by a layer of gravel.
Standing on the roof above the computer room Friday, Hill held up one such rock. It's easy to guess, he said, that stepping on a sharp rock can hurt the roof.
That particular room is causing much of the concern. They don't mind leaks on dump trucks, but Public Works has its own gas pump station for city vehicles to fuel up. A panel on the wall in that room controls the fuel system.
"It can be pretty catastrophic if something in there gets damaged," MacGregor said. "Besides, it’s just seeing the end of its life. We’ve already patched it several times. It’s one of those things where you patch one area and another opens up."
The new roof won't be ballasted. Officials are planning on a white rubber roof this time with a more usual 20-year warranty.