Calhoun now Valley’s acting city manager

Deputy City Manager Mark Calhoun was promoted to acting city manager at the Spokane Valley City Council meeting Tuesday night.

He’s been filling in since Spokane Valley City Manager Mike Jackson was fired in February.

Calhoun will fill that position until a permanent city manager is selected or until Nov. 18 – whichever comes first.

Parks and Recreation Director Mike Stone filled the council in on some unplanned expenses, including repair cost for the leaking roof on CenterPlace.

The tile roof has been leaking for a couple of years and a consultant has now determined that metal flashing is not installed correctly, and the underlay of insulation is in some places soaked with water.

The roof is just 10 years old and Stone said the roof should not be leaking at this point. It’s also beyond its warranty.

Repairing the seven worst areas of the roof will cost $51,630, Stone said.

For comparison, Stone said replacing the entire roof with 50-year singles would cost an estimated $475,000. That includes $160,000 it would cost to move the heavy tile and dispose of them, Stone said.

“Repairs have to be done to protect the building,” Stone said.

Councilman Ed Pace suggested perhaps getting rid of the building would be an option, but Calhoun said the outstanding bonds on the building run through 2033 – the bonds are paid for the by the Public Facilities District.

Councilman Arne Woodard said if it was his roof he’d tear the thing off and put a new one on – and that may be cheaper in the long run than repairing bits and pieces.

“I don’t think we have much of a choice but to repair it right now,” Woodard said.

Stone also asked for a larger budget for a splash pad to be constructed in Browns Park. The budget was $82,500 but the lowest bid came in at $99,786 – and Stone would like to add a path that would make the pad ADA accessible for another $8,572.44.

“This brings the total project shortfall for the splash pad to $33,859.04,” Stone said.

And finally, Stone asked for $6,236 to hook water up to the dog park on Mission Avenue. The dog park is ready for use but has not been opened yet, because of the missing water.

The City Council will consider Stone’s requests at next week’s meeting.