Counties asked to kick in for ROE building repairs

CHARLESTON The Regional Office of Education Committee called an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss bids for a new roof on the 18-year-old building.

Weather-related damage to the Regional Office of Education No. 11 (ROE) building, 730 Seventh St., caused the need for reconstruction work to shingles on the roof that blew off, according to Bobbi Mattingly, regional superintendent of schools.

The ROE committee consists of a representative from the seven counties that the ROE serves, which include Clark, Coles, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Moultrie and Shelby Counties. Also in attendance at the meeting were Mattingly, Assistant Superintendent of Schools Kyle Thompson and members of the Coles County Building Commission.

Five bids were discussed on Monday and it was unanimously voted to go with the lowest bid of $17,700 from Beechy's Construction Siding and Overhang of Sullivan for the construction of a metal roof. If the agreement is accepted by Beechys, it would include a 40-year warranty on the roof.

During the March 11 Coles County Board meeting, States Attorney Brian Bower said that the counties should be paying into a fund for building maintenance, in addition to the rent they already pay, which has never happened since the establishment was built in 1996.

Since the building, which is owned by the Coles County Building Commission, was constructed no major repairs were needed until now and because the seven counties have not paid into a fund for building maintenance, they will now have to pay a one-time lump sum to fix the roof, according to Mattingly.

The amount of money that the seven counties would have to pay include: $1,455 for Clark County; $5,408 for Coles County; $1,057 for Cumberland County; $3,047 for Douglas County; $2,280 for Edgar County; $1,775 for Moultrie County; and $2,678 for Shelby County. Coles County is asked to contribute the most money because it is the biggest county and Cumberland is the smallest, so it pays the least amount.

Mattingly said that at this time it is unknown when the roof repairs will start taking place.

The next scheduled meeting for the ROE committee is June 2, when members plan on discussing the long-term maintenance for the building, in addition to establishing a major building maintenance fund.

Contact Bilharz at sbilharz@jg-tc.com or 217-238-6839.

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Counties asked to kick in for ROE building repairs