City Hall is getting a makeover and the City of Plant City has received the final word on Hurricane Irma expenses.
One of the many changes headed to downtown Plant City is quick, but significant, construction at City Hall. On Nov. 25, commissioners agreed it was time to finally replace the roof of the building, which was originally installed in 2000. While it was recoated in 2009 and 2016, McDaniel said it is now beyond the point of normal repairs and thus must undergo a complete reroofing.
“There’s been multiple instances over the last few years where its become evident it’s time for a new roof,” McDaniel said. “I walked into my office one day and there was a waterfall going down onto this table. At first I thought it was an AC issue, but we investigated and found it was a leak. It’s definitely time to replace it.”
McDaniel said he’s been up on the roof himself eyeing the quality of the now nearly two-decade old materials. A lot of the wear and tear has gravitated toward the front of the building where the water rushes off after a heavy rain.
It’s a fast job once it starts and McDaniel said the process should take no more than 45 days once it begins.
Part of the city’s CIP program is dedicated to reroofing city buildings. The city put feelers out to determine the most financially sound method of going about the project and procurement determined it was “in the best interest of the City to piggyback the City of Tampa’s continuing contract with Quality Roofing, Inc., of Tampa.” Quality Roofing estimated it will cost $292,818 to finish the job. The city also received bids from two other contractors who had a range from $372,105 to $481,950, respectively. Commissioners agreed with the recommendation to hire Quality Roofing and authorized the city manager to execute a contract with the company.
McDaniel also announced the city received good news regarding the budget for the Hurricane Irma cleanup. On Sept. 9, 2017, the City of Plant City initiated emergency operations according to the city’s Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan. The next day, Interim City Manager Kim Leinbach activated the city’s Emergency Operations Center, which remained in operation around the clock until 5 p.m. Sept. 11.
City staff had to engage in a variety of storm-related activities including approach, landfall and recovery. The original estimated cost that was reported to FEMA for the expenses related to Irma was $1,676,587.96, which covered nine major projects around the city.
Debris removal from Sept. 4 and Sept. 17 cost $393,881. Debris removal from Sept. 18 to Oct. 17 cost $407,393. Repairing and replacing street signs and traffic signals cost $37,945.07. The Dr. MLK Jr. Utility Project cost $188,250. Stadium awning and fence repair cost $19,020.06. Recreation and parks facilities cost $48,611.32. Vermont Street repairs cost $17,937. Lift Station 2’s repair cost $44,482. Protective measures from Sept. 4 to Oct. 3 cost $439,068.51 and direct administrative costs (five percent of the total) were $80,000.
To date, FEMA has obligated a total of $1,490,495.54. Of that money, $1,387,297 is coming from the federal government and $51,599.29 is coming from the state. That leaves a mere 3.55 percent of the total amount for the expenses in the city’s hands. The City of Plant City is responsible for footing $51,599.25 of the total repairs. As of Nov. 18, 2019, the City has been reimbursed $972,653.65.
“The City is still expecting approximately $466,242.64 to cover storm debris pickup and administrative expenses, plus $26,842.18 for insurance deductions at closeout,” the report from the Finance Department said. “During the process, the split on some projects went from 75 percent federal and 12.5 percent State reimbursed to 90 percent federal and 10 percent State, based on changes approved by President Trump. This resulted in an $11,000.66 benefit to the City.”