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ELKINS -- Elkins City Hall will be facing a major construction project and an asbestos removal throughout the next few months, but a city official said the work will not interfere with City Hall operations or the Mountain State Forest Festival.
City Hall will undergo HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system work that will see construction equipment being placed on the building's roof at the end of September.
The treasurer's office and city court will be the first of the offices to be temporarily relocated in the near future due to the work. However, Operations Manager Michael Kesecker said there is no current plan to relocate any of the offices outside of City Hall, citing logistical and financial reasoning behind the decision.
"It's going to be inconvenient, but we are still here to serve the public and all the offices will be open," Kesecker said during Thursday's Elkins City Council meeting.
When questioned by Mayor Jerry Marco if there were any concerns with putting equipment on the roof due to the building's history of leaks, Kesecker said the contractors had looked and saw no issue so long as they kept away from the roof's corner drains.
Kesecker also said he has been speaking with the contractors to ensure that no outside construction on City Hall will take place during the Forest Festival, and that no construction equipment will be stored in the city parking lot during that time.
"So, there'll be no disturbance to parking or Forest Festival activities," Kesecker said. "They're willing to work with us on that and it wasn't a problem to convince them that was a wise move."
The 86th Mountain State Forest Festival is scheduled for Sept. 28 through Oct. 6.
The building will also undergo a planned asbestos removal in the attic from Aug. 26 to Aug. 30. Kesecker said this will cause a lot of noise in the building at certain parts of the day during that time frame; however, no City Hall offices will need to be vacated, due to proper ventilation, he added.
Kesecker also spoke on the work that the City Hall maintenance department has been doing to prepare the building for the asbestos removal and the HVAC system construction, explaining that they've been "extremely busy" and "doing a tremendous job."
He said more information will be sent out to the public as the dates of construction approach.
"We'll do many press releases," Kesecker said. "So, the public understands that City Hall is going under a major construction project... It's going to be a busy fall and winter for City Hall, that's for sure."