The Richwood Revitalization Committee agreed to ask Jeff Meyer of Meyer Restoration Inc. for a quote to temporarily tarp the opera house’s clock tower area to prevent water damage from the leaks.
According to the treasurer’s report, the committee has $2,282 in the $22 for 2022 campaign fund after Council member George “Soapy” Showalter gave a significant donation. In addition, $4,073 has been donated at Richwood Coffee.
“We are averaging around $200 to $250 a month” in donations from Richwood Coffee, said Treasurer Rachel Shadel.
The opera house line item also has $10,787.
“We have not been invoiced for Meyer yet,” Shadel told the committee.
The committee has received a quote from Meyer Restoration Inc. not to exceed 80 hours for normal repairs at the expense of $9,158 to address the clock tower leaks.
After paying Meyer, the committee will have a total of $8,344.
The committee has the required minimum of $5,000 to establish a fund at the Union County Foundation or to purchase a rubber roof to prevent further leaking in the opera house.
“I don’t have enough people that can tell me the great benefit of (joining the foundation)” said Committee Chair Reddy Brown. “The only reference I have is that the park got off of it. They didn’t see a great benefit.”
Committee member Gail DeGood-Guy said she could not have managed the North Union Veterans Memorial “without them.”
She said she stayed with the Union County Foundation until the memorial was complete and then the remaining funds were transferred back to the village.
“They handled all the thank yous, they kept track of every donation that was made – cash or check,” DeGood-Guy said. “When I gave them a bill to pay, they paid the bills.”
The committee decided to wait to join the Union County Foundation until the feasibility study is conducted to see if the committee needs assistance with tracking donations.
“It seems to me the urgency would be around covering the roof and preventing further damage from leaks,” said Committee member Tracy Plouck.
Brown said he is concerned that a rubber roof would be “throwaway money.”
He added that the tarps, barrels and buckets are “unsightly” but are collecting any water leaking from the roof.
“The water leak is in the clock tower,” Brown said. “The roof is not doing bad, except the clock tower is leaking like a sieve.”
Although Meyer Restoration Inc. has been contracted to repair the clock tower leaks, the company has had a busy workload and has been slow to respond to Brown.
“That worries me though. He just keeps putting this off,” said Committee member Donnie Ridgeway.
Plouck asked if Triad Architects or Meyer Restoration would offer “something we can do in the near term.”
“It’s going to cost several hundred thousand dollars to replace the roof, and that’s not happening obviously in the next couple of months, but if there’s something that could be done to help address the leaking of the clock tower, I mean that helps the interior of the front of the building,” Plouck said. “And people are concerned about the clock tower component specifically.”
Committee alternate member Laurie Eliot-Shea suggested the committee contact Meyer about the clock tower leak and ask if he could tarp it soon and express to him that the work needs to be done before winter because of the damages.
Brown said he would contact Meyer again and see what the timeline for the project is and if there is a short-term solution.
“He knows it’s bad. He’s seen it,” Ridgeway said.
In other news:
-The committee plans to staff a booth at the Richwood Independent Fair from Wednesday, Aug. 31, through Sunday, Sept. 4. The committee will offer a game for children to play with the opportunity to win prizes and share information about the opera house restoration project. The committee is planning to staff 10 shifts with committee members and alternate members as well as individuals from the public who attend meetings regularly. Those interested in donating to the restoration project will be able to do so with cash or card.
-DeGood-Guy is going to set up a table outside the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 870, 9 W. Blagrove St., during the annual garage sales on Saturday from 9-11 a.m. to inform residents about the opera house and seek donations.
–Brown plans to ask Samsung Richwood Solar to consider a donation to the opera house to repair the roof with or without the addition of solar panels, as the company has asked for suggestions of community projects to support financially. He has previously emailed Samsung officials suggesting donations for a trailhead at the park or for the opera house.
–The committee is still waiting on an update about when it will receive allocations from the 2020 and 2022 capital budgets.
The next Richwood Revitalization meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 18, at the municipal building, 153 N. Franklin St.