Work has begun this week on placing a new roof on the Columbia-Marion County Public Library.
Workers from R & R Sheet Metal have been on top of the roof this week doing work.
The library received substantial damage from an EF-2 tornado that swept through Columbia on Dec. 16, 2019. The tornado destroyed the roof and the interior received major damage from the heavy rains that fell later that night. When the workers arrived the following day, there was three to four inches of water inside the library. The library has been closed since.
The bid from R & R Sheet Metal for $91,750 was approved in February.
Beat 4 Supervisor Raymon “Tater” Rowell said Wednesday, depending on the weather, it should not take more than two weeks for the roof to be replaced.
Rowell also said the architect, Steve Cox, was nearly finished with the plans for the recommendation of the work that needs to be done inside the library. Once the plans have been presented to the board for approval, bids will open soon thereafter for the work that needs to be done on the inside.
In the meantime, work has ceased at the temporary location downtown due to the coronavirus. A temporary location at the former Jan-Marie’s Flea Market was set to be used while the repairs are being completed both on the inside and out of the library, but that’s been postponed as the virus has shut down activity.
