Council approves civic‑center tenting after inspection showing wood‑destroying organisms

City staff and an inspector reported evidence of wood‑destroying organisms in visible, accessible areas of the city’s civic‑center building and recommended a full fumigation (tenting) to address infestation across the structure.

Joe Ames, responding to council questions, said the building is predominantly wood with many inaccessible nooks and crannies and that a full tenting is recommended because a destructive, wall‑opening inspection would be extensive and may still leave inaccessible areas uninspected. “The areas that were inspected… determined there was evidence of termite infestation,” Ames said, and staff noted the structure appeared not to have been tented in about 25 years.

Councilmember Wheeler argued for a more detailed inspection and consideration of spot treatments before committing to tenting. “I didn’t hear anything that told us in your inspection that they actually found the places that were weak,” Wheeler said, urging targeted inspection to identify specific structural damage. Other councilmembers countered that deferred maintenance would increase long‑term costs and that the inspection and vendor recommendation supported full tenting.

The council approved the staff recommendation to proceed with the full tenting/ fumigation treatment (roll‑call vote recorded: Hazel — Aye; Sweeney — Aye; Wheeler — No; Mathis — Aye). Staff cited vendor findings and a 25‑year interval since prior tenting as rationale for the recommended approach. The estimated contract cost was discussed in the meeting as approximately $110,000; staff indicated it was within available budget and would proceed with contracting and subsequent repairs as needed.

Next steps: staff will initiate the fumigation contract and identify post‑treatment repair tasks; the council asked staff to provide follow‑up details on scope, schedule and any required tenant/occupant logistics.