Boys & Girls Club gym needs new roof

May 7—The Milledgeville Boys & Girls Club gymnasium needs a new roof.

Pamela Peek, executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Baldwin and Jones Counties Inc., met with members of Milledgeville City Council to talk about her budget proposal last Tuesday night. She also informed them of the need for a new gym roof.

Peek said she had put together a packet and pointed out that she had also shared it with Mayor Mary Parham-Copelan.

"We had some damage done to the building, which we at the time the tornado hit were unaware of the damage," Peek said.

She pointed out that after the E-F1 tornado struck the local hospital, as well as a business section and residential section of Milledgeville that her main concern was whether the building was still standing.

Peek said when she drove down on Sunday, March 26, 2023, to check on the local Boys & Girls Club, they were elated that the building was still standing.

"That particular day, we didn't see any initial damage to the building," Peek said.

Since they didn't see any damage, they assumed everything was okay, she said.

Later that year, a wind storm spun up.

"Toward the end of the year, we started seeing a little water here and there coming from our floor area," Peek said. "We thought it was coming from the floor area; we didn't know it was coming from the top."

Peek said the areas where water would pop up were simply mopped up.

In January of this year, a safety assessment evaluation was done like it is every year.

"She (the safety representative) immediately spotted some things we weren't trained to see," Peek said. "And when she spotted those things, the first recommendation was to get the children out of the facility."

At that point, Peek said she and other staff members were devastated and trying to figure out what was next.

Peek said she later contacted the national chapter for assistance.

She said the national chapter was not willing to grant any assistance until they have exhausted everything they could do on a local level.

"We didn't think it was fair, but they have protocols like everybody else," Peek said. "And I get that."

She explained that was now appealing to Milledgeville City Council for assistance.

Peek pointed out the local Boys & Girls Club budget cannot sustain the costs and other expenses associated with the repair estimate.

"I'll be honest with you, if we used the expenses that we have now, we will deplete my budget which would cause us to close," Peek said. "And that's the honest truth."

She said she had been told that a new roof would cost $87,000.

Peek said there was no way the local club could sustain such an amount and still provide the services to the children they help in the community.

"I actually didn't know until this afternoon that things were getting held up by the insurance company," said Milledgeville City Manager Hank Griffeth concerning the need for a new gymnasium roof. "And I'm going to tell you about what we have found out about the building from the city's standpoint, and some things we're planning to do down the road."

Griffeth said he hopes something can be worked out soon to remedy the problem.