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Raindrops a-fallin’

Commissioner leads tour of leaky courthouse roof, one of many reasons taxes are a-risin’

Times Observer photo by Brian Ferry A garbage can collects water leaking through the Warren County courthouse roof. A hose connected to the can carries water back outside through a nearby window.

Times Observer photo by Brian Ferry A metal tub collects water from a leak in the roof of the Warren County Courthouse. On Tuesday, commissioners discussed attempting to find dollars to pay for roof repairs. Times Observer photo by Brian Ferry The beams of the roof of Warren County courthouse show extensive water damage.

On Tuesday, the Warren County commissioners talked about the leaky roof at the courthouse and what it would take to repair or replace it.

Replacement of the slate roof would cost “a fortune,” Commissioner Ben Kafferlin said.

Earlier in December, Commissioner Cindy Morrison said the roof project was one of several big-ticket items facing the commissioners in the near future. The commissioners approved a budget with a two-mill tax increase on Wednesday.

The commissioners said they will seek grant funding for a repair project.

On Thursday, Kafferlin invited reporters to take a tour of the upper reaches of the courthouse.

He pointed out a garbage can sitting atop an upside-down bucket.

With a cold temperature outside and no active precipitation, there was only a slow drip collecting in the can. There was a hole drilled near the bottom of one side and a hose had been plugged into it.

That hose then led to a nearby window, where it passed outside and released water onto a different part of the roof.

At another location, a metal tub was almost half full of water. The old stains around the tub indicate that it had overflowed at some point or points in the past.

There was extensive water damage to the beams above that tub.

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