By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

NAPLES — The Carpenters performed a popular song, which had the lyrics, “Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.” 

That was how Naples Town Manager John Hawley’s workweek started — except that this Monday it was raining inside the town gymnasium.

“Water was leaking into the gym because of the removal of the old tarp and the heavy rain we received [Sunday] last night,” Hawley said. “The gym roof tarp was scheduled to be installed last Saturday, but due to the wind, the next attempt [to put on the new tarp] was made today.”

“When taking off the old tarp, it was discovered that the roof had settled and dipped in sections as much as 4-1/2 inches from the side walls. What is usually a flat and level roof has moved in just a year’s time,” he said.

Additionally, the shifting of the roof has exposed nails, some of which have punctured the rubber membrane, he said. 

Hawley reported the status of the gym roof to the Naples Board of Selectmen on Monday evening. The board voted to address the problem immediately.

First, the Naples gym is closed to the public, effective the end of the business day on Tuesday. All scheduled activities will no longer be held in the gym. 

Secondly, the town manager will reach out to an engineering firm to get a quote on inspecting the roof and making recommendations of what to do next. 

Naples resident Ken Norton urged the town to hire a professional and get an expert’s recommendation on the roof.

“You need to get an engineer… you are risking a lot,” he said. 

Chairman Jim Grattelo asked if it was possible to get through the winter by using reinforcement beams to hold up roof. 

Selectman Ted Shane responded.

“Hire a structural engineer, and allow him to make the recommendation,” Shane said. 

Norton expressed his concern that there might not be enough strength in the walls or roof for reinforcement beams to work. 

Hawley referred to photos of the roof on his computer. 

“What I have here a 2-X-4. This is 2-1/2-inch drop. There was 4-1/2-inch drop. It was level a year ago,” he said. “We assessed the rubber membrane. Because the roof is moving, all of those nails have punctured the rubber membrane. Without the tarp, the roof is leaking.”

Actually, the product covering the roof is an ice-rink liner because commercial tarps were not in supply, Hawley said. 

Selectman Kevin Rogers said, “We close it.” 

Hawley put several items on the table: Closing the gym for the unforeseeable future; which account to use to pay the engineering firm; and the logistics of holding a special town meeting to get permission to use funding for whatever fix is suggested. 

“More importantly, when the engineers make a recommendation, we might have to go to Special Town Meeting,” Hawley said.

The gym will need to be off limits when the engineers start the inspection.

“The other thing too: There is a false ceiling. Most of that false ceiling has to come down for them to inspect it,” he said. 

Hawley already had a conversation with the Community Activities Director Brian Crockett. 

“I met with Brian and talked about the possibility of it [the gym] being closed. Most of those activities can be moved. The most impactful, the highest number of individuals, are the ones going through the food pantry,” he said.

The board members had copies of the calendars showing gym use.

The selectmen voted, 5-0, to “stop all use in gymnasium effective tomorrow [Tuesday] at the end of business day, and to get an estimate for a structural engineer to come in and get the town through the winter.”

Shane explained that the reason he decided to wait until the end of the day was because a group was using the gym at 7 a.m., and it would be difficult to notify those people on such short notice.

As soon as possible, the town manager will notify the selectmen of those cost estimates. If it is more than $10,000, a special selectmen’s meeting will be held to vote on it. Hawley said using the firm that did the initial report might lead to cost savings. Another plus is that the engineer would be someone familiar with the structure, he said.