The Lisbon city council and Lisbon Historic Preservation Commission held a work session on budget requests Monday, Jan. 9, including potential work to the exterior wall of the Lisbon History Center.
Because it was a work session, no decisions were finalized or approved by the council.
Discussion on the Lisbon History Center exterior wall comprised a majority of the discussion.
Ann Opatz with the Lisbon Historic Preservation Commission was seeking the council’s opinion and advice on how to move forward with the project of removing lead paint from the exterior wall.
“The commission has worked hours and hours talking to contractors about the removal of paint from this exterior wall,” Opatz said. “We’ve done our due diligence and sought the advice of professionals. We know there is still lead paint on the exterior of the building that needs to be removed. The city has an obligation to mitigate the lead painting on the building, and any sale would have to disclose the status of the lead paint removal.”
Opatz said it was recommended that another application of stripper applied to the wall this spring or summer as temperatures warm up to see if more of the lead paint can be safely removed.
Without the lead paint being properly removed, the commission’s efforts to rehabilitate a number of bricks and other masonry repairs are currently placed on hold.
Council member Sara Nost said the council had previously approved removing the lead paint to that exterior wall with the first application by Bi-State Masonry. While that application had removed some of the paint, there is still paint on the wall, and the building’s exterior is now marked as a potential eyesore.
Council member John Bardsley said the council was led to believe by Bi-State Masonry that a single application would remove the paint.
Council member Mike Williams recommended the council move forward with encapsulating the lead paint with an application of a sealant.
Opatz said that doesn’t solve the problem, as the lead paint remains on the building, but further pushes the project down the road for another seven to eight years. It’s also not advised by one of the professionals, as it doesn’t address the moisture that is infiltrating some of the bricks.
Adding to the issue was a report from Eric Yarborough with the Lisbon History Center. During the blizzard before Christmas Eve, a radiator pipe froze in the center.
“We had one window in the history center that had snow coming into the interior of the building,” Yarborugh said. “I don’t know if the caulking or sealant around windows was removed in the process of stripping the paint from the exterior wall, but this is a potential problem.”
Yarborough said because of the infiltration of more cold air into the building, he is expecting far higher energy costs.
During the city council meeting, city administrator Brandon Siggins said they would investigate if recaulking or sealing the windows will address those concerns.
Opatz said the commission will get estimates on a potential second application of chemicals to peel more paint off. The commission spent $36,000 in the last application of chemicals, with more than 60 percent of those costs coming from grant money. The commission has grant funds reserved for the other brick repairs, but the funding for the second application is currently not in the budget.
Williams noted if lead paint is a concern for city owned buildings, he is also worried about the historic barns on the Meyers property, which would also most likely contain lead-based paint.
“Let’s not lose sight that the issue for us is lead paint on the exterior of this building which needs to be removed,” Opatz said. “Let’s work together to come up with a solution.”
Opatz thanked the council for their continued support of the downtown reinvestment program and Lisbon Business Improvement Grant programs, as they have provided funding for improvements to the businesses in downtown Lisbon.
Opatz noted that the majority of the fixes needed to the Lisbon Library are also finishing up this year, with the work to the upper-level windows.
“We’re on the contractor’s list, but he has been extremely busy and not able to get to this project this fiscal year,” Opatz said. “We hope he’ll be able to finish the project this spring or at the beginning of next fiscal year.”
The fire escape also needs to be sanded down and repainted.
The commission and council will continue discussions on the project at the Jan. 23 city council meeting.