School Roofs Are Safe, Board of Ed Told

More snow fell on Farmington last night, but schools roofs are safe, the Board of Education heard Monday night at its regular meeting.

District custodians and maintenance staff spent hours in the past week clearing the schools’ roofs, using creative methods to measure the snow and to remove it.

Business Administrator Michael Ryan told the board that staff had started trying to determine the snow load on the buildings Jan. 26, consulting with engineers and architects. They learned most roofs held 21 inches of snow, weighing about 30 pounds per square foot.

But what if it rained?  Ryan said Tim Harris, director of school facilities, created a device to measure the snow in various spots and circumstances by making a square-foot metal box with inches marked off incrementally. Then he and his staff set to work clearing the snow.

“It’s been a big job but they were resolute in accomplishing this,” Ryan said. “Tim led the troops and just did a fabulous job.”

In addition to building a device to measure the snow, staff used gliders to remove snow and also removed ceiling tiles at some buildings to use the heat to melt snow off roofs.

Ryan relayed a report Harris had given Monday morning on the status of each school building.

All the flat roofs at Noah Wallace, East Farms and West Woods Upper Elementary have been cleared, Ryan said, with insignificant amounts on the pitched areas.

Union School had very little snow on the roof, the crews found, with a maximum of 4 inches. Snowdrifts had accumulated on the roofs, which were removed. Board members mentioned that the lack of snow on Union School might be due to rising and escaping heat.

West District was covered in 18 inches of snow, which Ryan said was within limits. Twenty percent of that was cleared Monday and staff would continue to work on it Tuesday, Ryan said.

Areas of concern at Farmington High School, like the auditorium, gym and tech ed wing, were cleared or reduced to 8 inches.

Both Irving A Robbins Middle School and the high school have leaks.

“Considering everything that’s happened, we’re in pretty good shape,” Ryan concluded.