The Overton County Budget Committee and the Overton County Fair Association will meet Monday night to review bids to replace a section of the grandstand roof at the fairgrounds.
County Commissioner Darwin Clark said the far end of the grandstand received significant wind damage from a storm last summer. While early discussions considered replacing the entire roof, Clark said the insurance provider ultimately decided to cover only the damaged portion.
“They got to talkin about maybe just doing the whole roof again because you know, you don;lt know how much under damage has been done back and forth and back to the other side,” Clark said. “And so when they got up there and relooked at it, they changed their direction again and decided to just repair what was damaged.”
The total cost of the project is still unknown, but Clark said the replacement could approach $100,000. Clark said under the county’s insurance arrangement, the county expects the insurance provider to cover about 90 percent of the cost, leaving the county responsible for the remaining portion.
“It’s a county project and, you know, we don’t have a lot of resources, a lot of funds,” Clark said. “So hopefully, you know, you can keep the cost down. They all assured me that they do what they could do for us. So that makes me feel somewhat at ease about what the cost is going to be back to the county.”
Clark said the replacement will be to get the portion back to matching the rest of the roof. Clark said the roof consists of multiple layers, including metal sheeting, insulation, and a rubberized top layer designed to prevent leaks.
“They will get up there, and they will clean the surface well,” Clark said. “Then they will come in and lay that insulation down, get it all attached and properly placed. And then once they do that, they will come back in with the rubber roofing. And this rubber roofing, it pretty well just rolls out. And then they’ve got these little things or brackets that hold it in place. It secures it so it doesn’t come back up. It also, it forms with the insulation and the sheeting to make a good permeable, something that doesn’t leak. It’s something that will be there for a while.”
Clark said the budget committee will aim to recommend a bid to the county commission for final approval.
Clark said the repair process is expected to take a couple of weeks once work begins, though weather and equipment setup could impact the timeline. Because of the structure’s height, an estimated 75 feet, crews will likely need specialized equipment such as lifts or cranes to complete the project.
