It was not quite a year ago when the President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site was added to the National Park System. Apparently the building wasn't in the best shape when the National Park Service took control, as crews are now replacing the roofs.
The park received funding to replace the roofs on all three buildings at the site – the visitor center, the Clinton birthplace home, and the restroom building. The project also involves replacing deteriorated roof decking and flashing and replacing the heating and air conditioning systems in the birthplace home and visitor center with new energy efficient units. Workers also plan to install new climate control thermostats and wiring with new digital, energy efficient thermostat controls.
When the project is completed, it is expected to ensure the prevention of additional damage from water or moisture penetration of the site’s historic structures and fabric. It also will eliminate potential leaks in the historic structure of the birthplace home, resulting in the preservation of this structure for future generations to enjoy. The addition of energy efficient heating and air systems will result in considerable long term savings of overall energy consumption and the reduction of long term operational costs of managing these facilities.
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Comments
No doubt the buildings needed the attention, but let's not forget that this site came into the National Park System last year with no additional funding. Hence the project money spent to replace these roofs was in lieu of some other critical needs in the NPS Midwest region. It's a zero sum game.
J Longstreet
a national park superintendent