John Coffelt, Editor

Coffee County Budget and Finance Committee approved on July 24 a list of capital projects that include roof work on the Justice Center.

Maintenance Director Rick Soucy presented a list of repairs at the meeting detailing the scope of the repairs. The Justice Center roof consists of four sections with three that are gravel built-up roof. Sections of those three roofs show significant ponding weeks after heavy rain.   

Soucy said the gravel roof sections will have to be removed, and a concrete deck and insulation added that will channel water off of them.

Roof section four, the main three-story area of the justice center, has EPDM roofing, a type of roofing system, often referred to as “rubber roofing,” that utilizes a durable synthetic rubber membrane, specifically ethylene propylene diene terpolymer (EPDM). That roof needs replacement.

The leaks to the facility over the years have caused mold issues and sheetrock damage. 

“It’s an old building,” Soucy said. “We all know that over the last couple of years the cost of keeping that building up has skyrocketed and it’s only getting worse.” 

Soucy said that due to the number of HVAC units on the roof, adding a new sloped framed roof would not be feasible.

The Capital Outlay Committee will next decide one of two routes for the project, whether to hire a general contractor to “sub out” the individual contractors to do the work or if the county would handle that oversight.

 The project could take about eight weeks once construction begins. The warranty on the roofs is expected to last 15-20 years and should last the remainder of the expected life of the justice center.

The list of repairs, including work to the Coffee County Tullahoma Lannom Memorial Public Library and Coffee County Childcare, is expected to cost $2.59 million. 

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.