Niles safety building safe, but in need of $725K repairs, architect reports

NILES

Repairs to the city’s safety service center, essential for keeping the building from deteriorating further, will cost $725,000 according to an architect’s estimate released Thursday.

“Repairs to the foundation and the roof are critical to preserve the building,” wrote Architect Bruce Sekanick in his report to Mayor Thomas Scarnecchia. His analysis examined cracking of concrete masonry and bricks, signs of failing plumbing piping and numerous leaks in “the roof that has outlived its useful life.”

On the positive side, the architect said the nearly 28,000-square-foot facility is “repairable and with necessary repairs can serve the city for many more decades.”

On Wednesday, Sekanick told city council that despite all of these issues, the 40-year old building is “safe.”

Scarnecchia acknowledged the need for repairs, but said he does not know at this point how to finance them.

“Show me the money,” he told The Vindicator. Niles has been in state-declared fiscal emergency since October 2014.

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