By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

NAPLES — Some residents were seeing red over the Marine Safety roof.

Red shingles that is, instead of black.

But, black shingles is what was stated in the specs. Also, the roof-work bid that was being considered had requested shingles being replaced, instead of a metal roof. Therefore, no prices for metal roofs had been presented in the bid. 

The roof bid generated some discussion on Monday, but in the end, the Naples Board of Selectmen awarded the bid to Tetreault Construction for $27,072 to replace the roof of the Marine Safety Department building. That is the old town hall, which is the second to smallest brick building that faces Route 302.

The contractor “committed to replacing the entire roof not just the shingles. This would take all shingles off, would remove the plywood and replace it all with Vantech,” according to Interim Naples Town Manager Bill Giroux.

Prior to the vote to award the bid, one selectman stated a preference for a metal roof. This spawned some conversation not only about the roof, but also if there was time to stall the project with winter coming.

Giroux talked about options to put out a different bid — if that is what the board wanted. At the same time, he expressed the urgency of fixing the roof sooner rather than later.

“They have trash cans [inside the building] that fill up during rain events,” he said.

As the motion was being made and before it was seconded, Selectman Bill Adams commented that the bids did not provide the cost for a metal roof.

“Every single thing on the Village Green has a metal roof. Of all the buildings we own, it would be the only one with shingles,” he said.

Selectman Kevin Rogers said, “I just made motion.”

The motion was repeated.

Chairman Ted Shane commented on the contractor.  

“I am familiar with his work. He does great work. It would be a good one to choose, being local,” Shane said. 

After the motion was seconded by Selectman Steve LaPointe, Adams took the floor.

“My only concern is it is going to be the only roof in this whole area that isn’t metal. It is going to be shingles, the only one. Is that the way we are going?  Are we going backwards,” Adams said?

Rogers responded. 

“I personally think it’s a good idea that it is not metal because snow slides off [metal] into the parking area,” he said.

Adams reiterated his viewpoint. 

“Consistency is pretty much key. It should be the same across the board,” Adams said, referring to the type of roofs on the town-owned buildings on the green.

When the bids were first introduced, this is what Giroux told the board after explaining the project entailed replacing both the roof and the shingles.

“This is the way to do the job,” he said.

Then, he addressed the cost.

“You only budgeted $10,000. The way we would pay the rest is from part of the carry-overs that you did at your last meeting. That was our plan. We think this is right thing to do. That’s going to secure the roof for a long time,” Giroux said. “We think the town would be in good shape with this.”

Later on, when Adams suggested looking into a metal roof option, Giroux told the board the town would need more money to install a metal roof. That could cost up to $50,000, he said.

“You cut the budget down to $10,000 last budget season, which was one-third of what you needed. I was able to find the money. This is the way we had planned to do it originally and we spec’d it out that way for bid,” he said.

“We could step back and figure out how to come up with more money. I think waiting another year is not good idea,” Giroux concluded.

“I am in favor of the motion,” Shane said. “Is there a timeframe to get this done before winter?”

Harbormaster Shawn Hubert stepped to the microphone.

“We wanted to get it done this summer,” he said.

Also, the roofing contractor’s recommendation was to take everything down to sub-decking and then put roofing on, he said.

Getting back to Shane’s concern, Giroux said the board could require a completion date that is by the end of the year.

A resident in the audience brought up a preference for red shingles, which would match the Museum metal roof. For a few minutes, the conversation centered on the color of the shingles.

Chairman Shane said those details should not hold up a vote.

“Let us leave it up to the town manager. Let’s get the job done,” he said.

The vote was unanimous to accept Tetreault Construction’s bid.