Commissioners could act on statue repair
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WAYNESBURG – Greene County commissioners are expected to act on a proposal today from a building preservation and restoration company from Erie to make repairs and improvements to the county courthouse dome and statue.
The proposal from Fiske and Sons Inc., if accepted by the commissioners, came in at $95,000.
On May 2, the company inspected the courthouse dome and the support system for the Gen. Nathanael Greene statue.
The scope of the work will include removing the statue and all rotted and decayed roof rafters and structural supports that support the statue. Also, the company will:
• Install new structural dome roof rafters with the same kind of material
• Re-anchor hold down rods on the interior of the tower to the new structural members to hold the statue
• Install temporary weather proofing on the dome roof
• Fabricate a new structural steel hold down base
• Prepare mold and fabricate new structural fiberglass replica of the statue.
According to Fiske’s proposal, nearly half of the total cost will be for work on the statue.
The estimated cost to refurbish the original statue, which was designed by John Pauley of Waynesburg and carved by Albert Wise, a carpenter with Acklin Lumber Co., and was placed on top of the dome Nov. 17, 1927, and remained there until it was removed in 1997, will be $9,870.
To fabricate a fiberglass replica of that statue, which remains today at the Greene County Historical Society Museum, will cost $32,375.
Other than rigging and crane rental costs, the other major expense will be installing a new lightning rod system at $7,205.
Last month, the commissioners declared an emergency situation exists relative to the condition of the Gen. Nathanael Greene statue following an assessment by EADS Architects of Somerset.
Peter J. Follen, manager of architecture with EADS, told the commissioners in a letter that, “It is our opinion that these problems must be addressed immediately. It is not possible to predict how long the roof structure and the statue will continue to remain in place,”
Moreover, he said, “The situation, in our opinion, is critical.”
Jesse L. Fiske, owner, told Greene County Chief Clerk Jeff Marshall in a letter dated May 29 that if the proposal is accepted, the company is prepared to proceed with the work immediately.