Roofers to the rescue: Company offers free repairs to leaky Glace Bay centre
Morrison Campus Y's Men's Centre to receive $10K roof fix
A community centre in Glace Bay is getting a much-needed roof repair thanks to a business with Cape Breton ties.
The Morrison Campus Y's Men's Centre is housed in the former Morrison junior high school, which the Glace Bay Y's Men's and Women's Club purchased from the Cape Breton Regional Municipality for $1.
The 100-year-old building is in good shape for the most part, said manager Greg Barns. A notable exception is a flat-roofed entrance room off the gymnasium that's been looking more like a wading pool.
"You can hear the drops ... even when it doesn't rain, cause there's so much water on the roof," said Barns.
There have been worries that, if left much longer, the water damage could spread to the gym itself, where the centre houses its bingo games, dances, flea market and sports programs.
But a shower of good fortune has landed on the centre in recent days.
"Luckily, thankfully, we have a company that's coming in to actually volunteer their time, effort and material to fix the leaky roof for us, which is incredible," Barns said Wednesday.
The offer of help comes from John Harrington, president and owner of PMC Roofing Ltd., which has its main office in Debert. Harrington — who moved to the Baddeck area two years ago from Debert — learned of the centre's plight while watching the evening news.
'Seemed the right thing to do'
"It was pretty obvious to me that this wasn't just a normal roof leak situation," said Harrington.
"So I have a crew of roofers that live in Glace Bay. And ... all in all it just seemed the right thing to do to see if we couldn't jump on board and at least help them through some of the inclement weather that's coming."
The emergency repairs will involve installing new roof membrane over the badly leaking section, a job that will cost upward of $10,000.
"Then we'll look at the situation and see whether there's more that needs to be done in the spring," said Harrington.
If the weather co-operates, the work could be done as soon as this weekend.
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