$70G in repairs expected on Lynn school portable

LYNN – Students at Sisson Elementary won’t be returning to their portable classrooms any time soon.Students in two kindergarten and two first-grade classrooms were forced to re-locate last week due to the unstable structures and leaking roof brought on by the recent snowstorms. There are four classrooms in the 23-year-old portable.Inspectional Services Chief and Building Commissioner Mike Donovan says the damage is “significant” and was caused by a poor gutter arrangement.”There is an internal gutter arrangement as opposed to external arrangements that are on the majority of buildings,” said Donovan. “The poor set-up caused water to accumulate inside the building in the internal gutters. The water then froze and caused the leaks.”Teams of contractors were called in to do a “walk through” of the structure to make estimates on how much the repairs will cost.”The bids on repairs are due next week and then we will decide which contractors to go with,” said Donovan. “After we choose a contractor, we’re looking at anywhere from three to six weeks for the repairs to get completed.”He noted that making the repairs will not be cheap.”I’m not positive how much it will cost, but I’m expecting to hear from contractors that it will be around $70,000,” he said. “Obviously at some point the city has to look at it and say how long can we continue to use a 23-year-old portable structure?”But Donovan says at this point the city doesn’t really have a choice.”We need the space,” he said. “For the immediate term we need to make sure everything is safe and repaired.”Donovan is working with an industrial hygienist, who is testing the structure for mold and air quality.During an initial mold test last week, Donovan said there was a slightly elevated level of mold in the portable classrooms.”Obviously we will clear this entire area,” he said. “The hygienist will be on-scene during all of the repairs to make sure we don’t miss any areas that had mold. Clearly the students will not be able to return to the classrooms until the mold is completely eliminated.”Donovan says this isn’t the first time this year that the structure has leaked.”After the first huge snowstorm we were contacted about a notifiable leak,” he said. “We brought a dehumidifier in, cleaned out the water, had a contractor in to patch the roof and we took up wet flooring material and put down a carpet.”After the next big snowfall, Inspectional Services spent time shoveling the roof on the portables, along with several other buildings in the city, prior to being notified that there was yet another leak.”At this point because of the way the water was coming in, it was decided it would not be safe for students to be in there.,” he said.Three of the classrooms of students have been re-located to other classrooms at Sisson and one classroom has been re-located to a classroom at Pickering Middle School.Donovan says the roof on the portables, which were meant to be temporary structures but are now close to 23 years old, have been patched and repaired in the past.He says now the entire roof will need to be replaced, not just patched.”There is a suspended ceiling and then a level of hard ceiling above that, and a level of insulation above that,” he said. “In order to have access to the leak, we need to remove both ceilings and replace them and change out the insulation.”After the repairs are made, Donovan says the results of the air quality and mold tests will be reported to Latham and Sisson Principal Jane Franklin.”A report will definitely be provided so that ultimately parents can be notified that the area is mold-free and safe for students to return,” he said.