Niles council to decide if city hall repairs are worth it

NILES

It will be up to city council to decide if the costs to repair the city hall roof and a seriously damaged basement wall are worth it for an 89-year-old building.

Water from the leaking roof was attributed as the cause of mold that led to a one-day shutdown of city hall last week.

Several employees, including Mayor Thomas Scarnecchia, reported illnesses. Scarnecchia, who was hospitalized several days and released Tuesday, did not attend Wednesday’s meeting.

In his absence, council President Robert Marino is serving as acting mayor.

“The architect will …determine whether [it’s] worth it,” Marino said. “If [not], it stops there.”

On Monday, architect Bruce Sekanick told council he would not recommend putting money into repairs if his study shows the damage “is worse than what we saw.”

According to Sekanick’s timetable, his schematic design proposal will be ready in 10 days. At that time, the architect is expected to produce a cost estimate for council to consider.

Read more on the situation in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.