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Scott Barnard, maintenance technician for more than 20 years at City Hall, stands on the roof during Thursday’s rainfall. There are areas of the roof that have been patched but still leak, some into the council’s chamber room and other offices and stairwells as well.

When citizens bring a problem to City Hall, they’re likely unaware of the urgent issue that sits above their head.

It’s time for a new roof.

Scott Barnard, maintenance technician at City Hall, faces the job of patching holes when water leaks through the roof. When the moisture reaches the ceiling on the fourth floor, pieces of plaster flake off and fall into the stairwell. Rust stains on a ceiling grate in the council chamber show where water drips through to the floor below.

Mr. Barnard stood on the roof as another round of rain rolled into town Thursday and described the problem. Patches no longer get the job done.

“Sometimes we can’t even find the leak,” Mr. Barnard said. “You might have water in one place, but the leak could be 30 feet away.”

Voters approved roof repairs at City Hall when they passed the most recent Capital Improvements Program sales tax. The city planned to pay for the project with $100,000 in CIP revenue, but realized more money was needed when it opened bids and the lowest one, from Hausman Metal Works, came in around $400,000.

The City Council finance and audit committee will meet at 4 p.m. Tuesday in the fourth-floor conference room at City Hall to discuss funding options for the roof repair and other projects involving city-owned facilities.

In a memo to council members, City Manager Vince Capell suggested the city use $300,000 in cell phone settlement revenue to pay for the balance above what CIP funding could provide.

Mr. Capell said he hoped work could begin this fall, though the project would not be completed until the spring. The work can’t come soon enough for the longtime maintenance man.

“She’s the best built building in town,” Mr. Barnard said. “We have to take care of her.”

Other projects on the finance and audit committee’s agenda include: Phil Welch Stadium improvements; upgrades to the Fifth and Edmond streets parking lot; restoration of Fort Smith on Prospect Hill; two phases of improvements to Coleman Hawkins Park; land acquisition near Krug Park; a new boat dock on the Missouri River; repairs at the Wyeth-Tootle Mansion; and street repairs at Eastside Industrial Business Park.

Clinton Thomas can be reached

at clintonthomas@npgco.com.