Roof repair and chiller needs are high on the to-do list for La Crosse Center

Repairs to the La Crosse Center roof could happen soon.

The center board will ask the city to provide $60,000 from existing funds to fix a leaky roof on the main arena. Jay Odegaard, the center manager, says the arena is the only portion of the La Crosse Center where leaks have been detected for now. “We don’t see any other location where this is going to be (an) immediate problem,” said Odegaard, “but we obviously didn’t see this one coming, either.”

Center staff says the current arena roof material, installed about 30 years ago, could last for another decade. However, problems with the roofing material have caused air pressure to build beneath the roof, causing holes to blow open.

The Center board also is requesting a new base chiller for the building. Two chillers are being used in the civic center now. Odegaard says the center “can’t run the risk” of not having the building air conditioned for summer events, such as weddings and receptions.

Tuesday’s meeting of the center board was the last for attorney Phil Addis, who says he has served since the 1990’s, being appointed by then-Mayor Patrick Zielke. Addis noted that his father, Joe Addis, served on the board of the old Mary E. Sawyer Auditorium, which was replaced by the La Crosse Center in 1980.