Water damage at the Northfield Historical Society
Submitted by Griff J Wigley on Wed, 07/20/2005 - 4:35am
Yesterday morning, workers began removing the peaked roof at the Northfield Historical Society. This morning's 6 am rainfall found its way into many areas of the Scriver building, despite the tarp placed on the roof overnight.
Rob Schanilec, NHS board president (pictured above), gave me a tour of the building at about 7:00 am. Water damaged at least one of the new ceilings in the recently restored museum area. The museum store and basement collections areas were spared, despite falling ceiling tiles. Amid the many buckets and baskets collecting the dripping water, Servicemaster was doing the immediate cleanup. Click the photos for larger views.
It appears the water damage was caused because the new roof drainage system was activated before the interior plumbing was completed due to a miscommunication. The roofing contractor, GAG Sheet Metal, and NHS Executive Director Mark Fagerwick are on top of things assessing damage and putting things back in order. As noted earlier - it appears archives and store merchandise were spared - and for that we're very thankful.
First, thanks to Northfield.org for keeping me in touch with my hometown. I didn't think I would care about the happenings of Northfield, except for some incredible friends, but I find I still have feelings for the place where I assisted The Milkman for God knows how many years.
I bank in Northfield. Fortunately the people running First National Bank of Northfield are far more competent than those running a few of the construction projects in town - especially the reroofing of the Scriver Building across the street. As Senior Project Specialist for the fifth largest Architectural firm in the world, I was appalled at the lack of professional care - and common sense - as I watched the crews on that project one morning. As someone who is frequently in charge of construction observation in our office, from small Walgreens stores to a couple of airports and $600 million convention centers, I was shocked at what was proceeding right on mainstreet, on this one project. Many items had to do with safety of pedestrians and workers. These are items the local building official, insurance agents for the parties involved, and City Attorney (Hello? It's on an accessible public street) should have stopped. Oh yeah, then there's the mental list of 12 to 14 things construction-wise that were going to go wrong. Trust me... as you take care of the water. By the way, mildew and mold extracting/prevention mitigation has been discussed in detail, right?
Whether it's what to do with vacated hospital property, how to work on historic properties, or the right way to develop Target-type properties (my developer client walked all over you) it ain't quaint little Northfield, anymore. Like it or not, the small town is becoming a bedroom community for people who don't play by small town rules. Like it or not, business as usual, will go away (ask the Jacobsens and Petrickas). The new owners of properties will not play by the same rules that the local business/government elite have been allowed to play by. As with most casualties of business wars, it will be the consumers - in this case, the residents of Northfield - that will ultimately pay the price. I doubt the Historical Society paid bottom dollar for shoddy construction means and methods.
People in Northfield pay Class A Suburb dollars for things. But, what happened to the small town caring pride in how things were done?