The Kenai Senior Center's leaky canopy repair has grown to about $220,000

The cost of fixing the leaky canopy over the Kenai Senior Center's entrance has grown to about $220,000, more than four times the $50,000 the city first set aside, Public Works Director Lee Frey told the Council on Aging Commission on Thursday.

The roof had leaked for years, Frey said, and crews had expected to replace only the plywood on top of the joists. When they opened it up, they found about 82 rotted joists that had to be replaced.

The canopy dates to 1983, Senior Center Director Kathy Romain said in September. The center runs trips, classes, exercise outings and a choir, and it logged 5,677 sign-ins from 331 people from July through September, according to its quarterly report in the commission's meeting packet.

The project was over budget before the rot turned up. About $30,000 of the original $50,000 was left after design, and the only bid priced the canopy work at $122,900, according to a June memo from Frey. The City Council added $110,000 in July.

After the rot was found, the council voted 7-0 in September to add another $45,000, bringing the total to $205,000. Frey said his $220,000 figure includes design and rework. The added money came from the city's general fund.

Other senior center work is still ahead. A $60,000 project to widen doors for wheelchairs and add push-button bathroom doors may change scope, Frey said. A separate front door project has a finished design and is waiting on a cost estimate.

Behind the center, the bluff wall finished a year ago is holding up well, Frey said. The city has state grant money for a path down the bluff for maintenance, but it plans to wait for the slope to settle, which could take five to 10 years, he said.

Higher medical insurance costs and lower revenue could mean less capital spending this year, Frey said. The city's capital plan could go to the council in January, he said.