Immediate works to stop water leaking into the City Hall building are expected to begin shortly as the council tries to move ahead with its restoration project.
Mayor of Georgetown Hamilton Green told Stabroek News that the immediate things that have to be done include the fixing of the guttering on the building, stopping the leakage and removing a water tank from its location as was advised by foreign consultants.
The preliminary assessment report by consultants Ihosvany De Oca Morales and Nigel Renwick had said that the “greater part” of deterioration of City Hall is a result of water ingress. It also stated that priority should be given to finding a solution to the situation, which is the key factor that triggers many other problems.
They further said that entire sections of the guttering system are also missing, blocked or disconnected and continuity of rain water drainage is interrupted.
Green said that the council will try to contain the leaks by whatever means, while adding that there are some urgent matters that have to be done and he expects the Town Clerk and City Engineer to deal with them without procrastinating.
When asked about the average amount that was needed for the project, the mayor said that he could not say at the moment.
Green also said that they are far away from the list of things that need to be done in the restoration process.
He added that they will have to recruit another set of experts to deal with the architectural aspect of the building that was recommended in the report.
The report will also be on the agenda for discussion at the council’s next statutory meeting on Monday.
The international consultants have stated that the building was in “cardiac arrest” and as such urgent actions needed to be taken.
The council has since embarked on a mission of seeking funding from the private sector to fund the restoration process and Green had said that they were waiting on the report from the consultants to move ahead with the plan.
