By Daniel Human
Tribune business writer
— The Howard County Council on Tuesday night approved funding for repairs to the Kokomo Event Center’s roof, which should cost about a third as much as previously estimated.
The county is appropriating up to $55,000 to repair about 40 leaks. Estimates were previously $150,000.
The event center will use $45,000 to cover the costs, with the remaining $10,000 going toward contingencies and any additional expenses.
The council approved the money with the understanding it would be reimbursed.
The event center received about a dozen bids for the work, which ranged between $39,000 to $245,000, event center board member Mike Ullery told the council.
The majority of the contractors planned to coat, seal or redo the entire roof. But the company the center plans to go with for the repairs told board members that about 95 percent of the roof is in good condition, meaning it only needed to work on the remaining 5 percent, Ullery said.
The company is also offering a two-year warranty that will cover repairs for any new leaks, which none of the others offered, Ullery said.
Tiffany Damitz, the general manager of the event center, said the work should begin in about two weeks and it will take another two weeks to finish.
Councilman Paul Wyman suggested the center use the roof repairs as a jumping-off point to look into other maintenance and repairs the building needs.
In other business, the council approved a $130,000 allocation Tuesday for matching a federal grant that will buy radios for emergency agencies.
The county is using County Economic Development Income Tax funds to cover its share of the grant match. The city of Kokomo is contributing $55,000.
The grant will help buy 184 portable radios for volunteer fire departments and the Howard County Emergency Management Agency. The money will also pay for upgrade to the dispatch center and the installation of a repeater, which will prevent signals from being lost, near Russiaville.
• Daniel Human is the Kokomo Tribune business reporter. He can be reached at 765-454-8570 or at daniel.human@kokomotribune.com.
