LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Department of Labor has given Little Rock an additional three months to finish replacing the police headquarters’ leaky roof, a Labor Department attorney said Monday.
City Manager Bruce Moore said he had expected the extension would be needed and granted as long as the city showed a “good-faith effort” to repair the roof.
“In most cases in my experience with [the Labor Department], unless you’re not doing anything to address the problem, they try to work with you, and that’s what happened in this case,” Moore said.
The city was under a Nov. 17 deadline to replace the roof after an August inspection found several leaks made the building at 700 W. Markham St. unsafe.
But when the deadline passed last week, work was only about halfway completed.
Labor Department general counsel Denise Oxley said inspectors routinely grant extensions “as long as there is not any type of imminent danger situation” and the employer shows they are making progress, as in the city’s case.
The city now has until Feb. 17, 2011, to finish the repairs. Once completed, the department will conduct a final inspection and check to see if any other violations have been uncovered during the course of construction, she said.
City architect Tim Heiple said he expects the roofers would easily meet the new deadline because they had finished with the sections in most need of repair: the eastern end and the area over the front entry.
“I would expect if they have good weather, in a couple weeks they’ll be done,” he said.
The problems the inspector cited aren’t the only concerns the city has identified at the police building.
Last month, Moore set aside about $20,000 for a “second phase” of work to rid the building of mold, including some toxic spores, and fix damage caused by leaks and sweaty ductwork.
On Monday, Heiple said the actual cost may be as much as $40,000, but an exact amount won’t be known until bids are unsealed today.
Money for the second phase will come from about $400,000 that had been dedicated for an emergency backup computer system but which the city’s Board of Directors had already tapped to pay for the $160,000-plus cost of the new roof. The money was part of the city’s last $4.9 million short-term loan taken out in 2008.
The city relies on short term loans to fund capital improvements and large purchases, such as buying police cars. It sets aside only about $175,000 a year for maintenance of all city buildings.
Bid documents for a third phase of work to fix the building’s ventilation system are still being drafted, and aren’t expected to be released for several weeks, Heiple said.
The fixes are aimed at correcting problems cited in an August air-quality study that found that the leaky roof, high indoor humidity and ductwork condensation have caused “abnormal” elevated levels of mold that could cause allergic reactions and problems for people with asthma.
A study in 2007 also found mold levels, including the toxic Stachybotrys, that could cause problems for people with respiratory conditions.
Assistant Police Chief Eric Higgins said Monday he wasn’t aware of any employees who have complained of health problems related to the roof or mold in the building.
Arkansas, Pages 13 on 11/23/2010