Roof replacement approved by DUR

The Red Oak Downtown Urban Renewal Board met for its regular meeting on June 8.
DUR Chairman Roger Vial reviewed the financial reports, and said when the board received its new round of funding July 1, around $13,000 of the $70,000 of funding provided by the City of Red Oak had been earmarked for some projects that have already been given final approval for funding requests.
Vial advised the board he had received one grant request for first-round approval from Rick and Susan Taylor from Davis-Taylor Insurance at 204 E. Reed St.
“They are looking to install new roofing, and provided two estimates. The low estimate was for $43,798. They put the grant request at $5,000 but they are actually eligible for $7,500, because they are spending more than $30,000 on the project. They also will qualify for an 18-year warranty on the work, and a 30-year lifespan,” commented Vial.
Vial added that in years past, the board required more permanent rubber roofing to qualify for grant funding, but with the new, stronger roofing materials available, the board has shifted its stance to a 15-year warranty on the project.
“None of us want to be roofing experts, so instead, we've determined a policy that establishes the work is a long-term roof, instead of a quick fix, as if we allowed grants for quick-fix roofing projects, we'd be spending money every few years on the same projects,” Vial explained.
The DUR board granted first-round approval for the roofing project at 204 E. Reed St.
Under projects for final approval was 201 E. Reed St., with a grant request from Bryant and John Blay, to remove and replace damaged concrete. Vial said he had nearly all the necessary documentation required for the project and expected the item to be up for approval at the next regular DUR meeting in July. No further action was taken.
The board also took no action on the second item under final approval, replacement of older single pane windows at 317 E. Reed St., Mark Jackson's Red Oak Hardware and Hallmark Gold Crown Store, as the windows had yet to be installed.
The final project under final approval was 410 E. Coolbaugh St., the Red Oak Grand Theatre. Grant request was for tuckpointing the north elevation and inside parapet wall, for $2,748.50. Final approval was granted, and the item proceeded to final approval with a request for funding. Vial said he had all of the necessary documentation.
“I have an invoice from Andrews Tuckpointing, and the cancelled check, for proof of payment, and we amended the amount to $2,748.50,” Vial said.
The grant amount was amended after subtracting out $17,750 that was received from the Montgomery County Community Endowment for the $28,744 project.
“Technically, this money didn't all come out of their pocket, and this is the first time this scenario has come up. Since they received a large portion of the funding for the endowment, the grant amount was amended to 25% remaining from the theatre's out of pocket expenses. It was decided to keep things uniform and factor in the secondary funding,” Vial explained.
The board approved the request for funding from the Red Oak Grand Theatre, in the amount of $2,748.50.