The City and Borough of Juneau is repairing two school roofs this summer that were damaged during this past winter’s record-breaking snowstorms.
The Juneau School District closed Sít’ Eetí Shaanáx – Glacier Valley Elementary School and evacuated Mendenhall River Community School during the storms due to concerns about the amount of snow on the roof.
Deputy City Manager Robert Barr said the city is working closely with its insurers and contractors to repair the roofs.
“We’re trying to do it quickly, because the faster we can get this done, the fewer impacts there will be on kids in the fall, once school reopens,” he said.
He said engineers are working with the city on design work for repairing the two roofs. They’ve finalized designs for Glacier Valley; Mendenhall River is still in the works. The roofs will be repaired to withstand a greater amount of snow as well.
The Juneau Assembly is considering an emergency appropriation for the repairs during a special meeting this Thursday. If approved, it would allow the city to spend up to $3.5 million. Barr said that’s the higher end of the estimated cost and that a lot of it should be reimbursed by insurance.
“We don’t really know what the actual cost is going to be yet until our insurance adjuster and our contractor have an opportunity to really dig into the details of those estimates, which they are doing right now,” he said.
Barr said the Juneau School District will communicate with families about impacts during the school year once the city has a better idea of how long construction will take.
