Town staff will begin working on a plan to further evaluate damage at the Fountain Hills Community Center and develop a strategy for addressing the apparent long-term issues with water leaking into the building.

The council heard a report from Gene Buick with the firm of Allana Buick and Bers at the Sept. 20 regular meeting. The firm was hired early this year to evaluate the condition of the building after it was discovered there was significant water infiltration into the building along with damage. The wide scope of the situation was noticed during renovations done to the building last year.

One of the more noticeable impacts is a musty odor and dampness in the building. This raised concerns on the part of some council members about mold or mildew and potential health effects for employees or citizens in the building.

“What should be at the very front of this is to test the air quality immediately,” Councilman David Spelich said. “I’m worried about the health of staff and seniors who use this building.

“Are we in the process of securing that service?”

Town Community Relations Manager Bo Larsen told The Times late last week they had begun the process of hiring a specialist to do air and water quality tests. He said it should take about 10 days to finalize a contract.

Public Works Director Justin Weldy told the council staff has been working on as many of the issues it can as quickly as possible while the study has been ongoing.

“It is very difficult to explain how frustrating it was working on projects while water was coming in,” Weldy said. “We have not just sat around waiting to hear from someone what to do.

“I will not assign blame [for the situation] to anyone else.”

The report Buick presented to the council stated the preliminary findings of the evaluation indicate a substantial failure of window and door assemblies around the entire building. The study attributes this to improper installation of the window and door assemblies. High-pressure water tests were run in two dozen locations around the building and all of them leaked to varying degrees.

The report states “that nothing short of complete removal and replacement of the window and door assemblies will resolve the ongoing leakage. Any type of sealant or coating repair would be short-term at best and would require extensive maintenance and not guarantee these repairs would be successful.”

Buick clarified to the council that there are ways to make effective repairs using qualified personnel and products.

The report also cites possible plumbing leaks under the building slab and lack of flashing where drainage, electrical and ventilation conduits go through the roof.

The recommendation from the consultant includes hiring “a licensed architect experienced in exterior building renovations to develop a repair scope that includes the following: replacement of window and door assemblies, installation of waterproofing and sheet metal flashings, targeted repair of exterior wall cladding assembly and proper integration flashings, repairs to interior finishes and replacement of a portion of exterior hardscape and installation of additional drainage to manage rainwater more effectively.”

Although he said engineering estimates were not part of the scope of work he prepared, when pressed by council members he suggested the cost of repairs could amount to more than a million dollars.

He said there are a number of near-term solutions the Town could be working on, with a long-term strategy for repair.

“Some solutions are available immediately,” Buick said.

“I don’t want us to be simply sticking our finger in the dike,” Councilman Alan Magazine said. “I don’t want to be wasting money.”

Town Manager Grady Miller said he wants to really evaluate near-term solutions and repairs.

“The windows in the building are custom and would be very expensive to replace,” Miller said. “We need to investigate near-term solutions that can be effective.”

“This is a troubling report,” Spelich said. “If we had known just a portion of the magnitude of the issues here, I don’t think any of us would have approved the $800,000 to remodel last year.

“I don’t know how staff missed these concerns.”

Buick said many of the issues were not visible until uncovered while the evaluation was being done.

“I don’t believe there was negligence,” Buick said. “There could be a lot of reasons related to workmanship or value engineering in construction.”

Town Attorney Aaron Arnson was asked about possibly going back to the contractor for relief.

“There may be issues with construction or design,” Arnson said. “We are very preliminary and just don’t know. This is on the radar for our process.”

The Community Center groundbreaking was in the summer of 2000 with opening in the fall of 2001. Target General was the contractor, and the architect was Hoffman-Dietz. Target General reportedly had several large projects going state-wide at the same time the Fountain Hills Community Center was built. The Library/Museum building in Fountain Hills was built at the same time.

Buick said his firm would be able to develop a list of priorities and recommendations for the Town to address with the building. Larsen said those options are on the table and being discussed. The council would need to make the ultimate decision on how to proceed.