Work has begun on the new roof of Jemison City Hall. Crewmen arrived Monday to start construction on a pitched metal roof, which city officials hope will make leaks a thing of the past.

Mayor Eddie Reed said the city had spent about $40,000 over the past 15 years attempting to repair a flat roof that has continued to leak, causing water damage to interior walls.

“There was a lot of rotten wood up there that had to be taken out,” Reed said. “We had to protect the interests of the city, and something had to be done.”

The council decided long ago that it didn’t want to put any more money into a flat roof. Reed said a flat roof is not a good design for office buildings.

“The council didn’t want to go back to the same system again because it’s a bad system,” he said.

The structure that serves as Jemison City Hall used to be a two-story building, but the old top was torn down years ago, Reed pointed out. He recalled some work was done on the building as early as the 1950s.

This time, the building will get a little taller and hopefully a little drier. Workers are having to tear out the damaged walls in addition to replacing the roof itself. The work will take several days to complete.

Shoal Creek Building Services were awarded a labor-only bid of $15,955 to do the work.