Widmyer Elementary roof may need support due to blizzard

The Widmyer Elementary roof may need support bracing due to the February snowstorms.

There were concerns about structural issues with weight and the school’s new heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) units, Morgan County School Board President Laura Smith said at their July 6 meeting. The February blizzards dumped more than four feet of snow on the area.
Two different Widmyer roof areas were ponding with water that was three to four inches deep, School Maintenance Supervisor Alston Yost said. White said there was more water ponding than ever on the roof.

The roof was put on the building as a 2004 School Building Authority (SBA) project, School Treasurer Nancy White said. The roof structure isn’t bouncing back as it should, she said.

Inside pillars
The school system had received the final recommendations about the roof from a structural engineer. The engineer was advising that they build pillars inside the school to support the weight, White said.

Board member Larry Omps expressed concerns about bracing the roof with pillars since the roof was designed to flex.

Omps worried that the bracing could inhibit the flexing and that could tear the roof apart. It was a big issue unless the pillars allowed the roof to flex to the maximum level possible, he said.

Yost thought that the engineer had allowed for some flexing in the bracing design. Omps said that could take care of the problem.

White said she had sent the engineer’s recommendations to the West Virginia Department of Education and to the original architects for the roof project – Williamson, Shriver and Gandee.

White was still waiting for a reply from the architects as of Monday. She hoped to speak with one of them during a mid-week meeting.

Keep snow off roof
The state Department of Education told them if there was more than six inches of snow on the roof that the snow had to come off, Yost said.
White estimated that the cost of bracing the roof would run somewhere between $80,000 and $100,000. She wasn’t sure if insurance would cover the costs.

White said she had talked with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials about the roof. It was hoped that the state Department of Education and the School Building Authority could help them remedy the problem before winter.

Water leaks
Leaks in the hot water return lines have also been an issue in the Berkeley Springs High School media center and in several different locations at Warm Springs Middle School.

The pinhole leaks have been patched. School officials were looking into what was causing the leaks.

Asbestos removal
Asbestos removal was running about a week ahead of schedule, Yost said. The asbestos work at Paw Paw Elementary, Paw Paw High School, Pleasant View Elementary, Berkeley Springs High School and Greenwood Elementary was finished. Floor work still had to be done at some sites.

Asbestos removal still needed to be completed at Great Cacapon Elementary and the Morgan County School Board office. The July 6 school board meeting was held at the Berkeley Springs High School media center due to the board office asbestos abatement.

The asbestos removal project would be done well before the estimated July 30 completion date.

Athletics field restrooms
The school board okayed the purchase of a modular bathroom facility from Jefferson County Schools for the Berkeley Springs High School athletics field. The price was being negotiated and would cost somewhere between $9,000 and $14,000, White said.

The restroom portable had a men’s side and a ladies side plus a utility closet for clean-up, Yost said. It was in very good shape, he noted. The portable would be placed next to the current concession stand, which was slated to become a storage unit.

One of two doublewide portables donated to the school system from the Morgan County Commission would become the new high school field concession stand. The other portable would be moved to Widmyer Elementary.