By Conrad Dudderar
Senior Staff Writer
EL RENO – A contractor has been hired to repair a leaky roof as part of renovations to a Canadian County building.
Canadian County Commissioners have awarded a $71,731 contract to Drake Roofing & Construction for a roof repair project at the Canadian County Health Department, 100 S Rock Island. Commissioners gave the go-ahead at their Dec. 28th meeting, selecting Drake over three other contractors seeking the work.
A surprise pre-winter ice storm made apparent the need to fix the roof at the CCHD’s El Reno office.
“Get your roof fixed, Steve,” District 2 County Commissioner Dave Anderson advised CCHD administrative assistant Steve Wheeler.
To which Wheeler replied, “Yes, and then move on to the rest of the reconstruction.”
Four contractors submitted bids for the roof repair project that county commissioners opened at their Dec. 14th meeting:
$152,000 from Grayco Roofing & Construction, $74,393 from Flying Out Roofing, $71,731 from Drake Roofing & Construction, and $147,250 from Heritage Hills Community Services.
District 2 Commissioner Dave Anderson explained the disparity in bid prices.
“We sent out bid specifications that showed an image of a roof installation system that implied there was an existing roof and an overlay,” Anderson said. “Two bidders bid it that way and the other two bidders bid it where they were going to remove the old roof.
“Our specifications were general enough we could accept either kind of approach.”
Canadian County maintenance supervisor Chris Jackson recommended leaving the existing roof in place and overlaying it with the new roofing material.
Jackson had earlier suggested both sides of the building’s existing tar and gravel roof be replaced with Durolast, a durable commercial roofing system. He cited the product’s superior warranty.
Bid specifications for the CCHD roof repair project listed roofing material “similar or equivalent” to that specific brand.
NO TEAR-OFF NEEDED
The significant difference in bid amounts was because two contractors had suggested tearing off the existing roof while the other two proposed only the overlay, county commissioners stressed.
“Two of the bids are, in essence, double the other two,” District 3 Commissioner Jack Stewart said. “It tells me it costs the same amount to take a roof off as it is to put one on.
“The low bid was great.”
CCHD’s Wheeler described the severity of the roof leaks during the Nov. 9th county commissioners’ meeting.
“We have been working on trying to get this leak for three years,” Wheeler told commissioners. “I’ve said for three years it’s going to crash right in front of me.”
After the late October ice storm, Canadian County maintenance personnel went on top of the health department’s roof to seal all the leaks they could reach.
Initially, three roof repair “quotes” were received from contractors for the CCHD project.
Since each quote exceeded $50,000, county commissioners were required by law to solicit formal bids and award a contract for this project.
