“There have been some concerns from employees and citizens regarding conditions there,” City Manager John Bennett said. “It can be corrected; there’s no danger of collapse, but it needs to be done.”
The 17-year-old deck is jointly owned by Rome and Floyd County and the two governments will split the cost.
Bennett said county officials are preparing the request for bids. Revenue from the deck goes to offset the operations costs and there is no reserve for major repairs.
Commissioners also got an update on the new Anna K. Davie Elementary School planned for South Rome. The site plan calls for two entrances, with buses coming in from Pennington Avenue and a drop-off lane for cars running from East Main Street to West Glover Street.
“This is the first campus where buses and vehicle traffic will be separated,” Bennett said. “It will be safer, it will be easier and it will flow so much better.”
School officials are still negotiating for the final eight tracts, including the old Howell (Triangle) Grocery, which are owned by Kerry Brown. Bennett said another parcel across Glover Street also may be purchased, to eliminate the need to build a retaining wall to shore up the hill.
The Rome City Commission will eventually be asked to close Wimpee Street, which runs through the center of the campus, and possibly part of West Glover.
Also on Monday, Commissioners awarded a $2,397,500 contract to low-bidder Heavy Constructors Inc. to replace the 72-year-old flash mix at the water treatment plant.
The project is funded through a 20-year state loan at 2.13 percent interest — a full percentage point below similar state loans because Rome is a certified Water First community. The voluntary program sets standards for environmental stewardship.
The parking deck at the Rome-Floyd County Law Enforcement Center is due for an inspection and a new set of stairs, but officials said the structure is not dangerous.
“It looks worse than it is,” County Manager Kevin Poe said.
Cost estimates are still being gathered, but funding for work on the parking deck will likely appear in the 2006 budget.
Members of the Floyd County grand jury toured the deck March 11, and their report filed at the end of April indicated several areas of concern. In addition to recommending new stairs and security cameras, the 23 citizen-inspectors questioned the safety of the building.
“The parking garage is constructed of reinforced concrete panels that are joined by a black substance. Several of the joints have opened up, creating gaps and voids,” the presentments read. “One of the panels was seen moving two to three inches when cars were passing over the joint.”
Poe said the precast beams are purposely separated by a flexible compound to allow for natural “give.” The construction technique is common in shopping malls and bridges.
“We had a structural engineer look at it, and he said it does need to be inspected periodically,” Poe said. “But he also said there was nothing obviously wrong with it.”