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The Jan. 23 Greenville City Council meeting covered two important issues for Greenville.

The first one was the repairs to the roof of the Greenville Butler County Public Library.

The council approved the $6,800 expense for repairs.

“I don’t know who mentioned this to the Mayor’s office,” said Kevin Pearcey, Director of the Library.

He doesn’t remember how long the roof has been leaking, but the staff placed metal waste baskets in various locations inside the Library every time it rained.

These metal containers were placed under the dome area, where water damage was clearly visible on the ceiling tiles; and near the door to the Historical Society, where the tiles were completely missing from the ceiling, leaving a hole.

“I think they’re fixing the flat part over the roof,” Pearcey said.

This is the part of the roof that covers the Community Room; which also has water damage in the corner by the doorway.

Mayor Dexter McLendon said this was the first he’d heard of the leaky roof.

“Nobody said anything to me,” McLendon said. “Kevin never told me.”

All the council members agreed that they knew nothing of the leaking roof inside the Library.

“I didn’t know it had been that way for years,” said Dee Blackmon, the City Clerk-Treasurer of Greenville. “That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”

The city inspectors took a look at it to assess the damage.

Jimmy Cole with the City of Greenville Building and Grounds Department is responsible for the maintenance of all the buildings owned by the city.

Whether Cole suggested the need for the repairs is not clear.

McLendon doesn’t know who initially mentioned the need for these repairs, but he and the city council members all approved the expense.

The other agenda item of note was the generous gift given to the city of Greenville.

The heirs of the late Paul Maxwell Washburn gifted their inherited property, located at 116 Oliver Street in Greenville, to the city.

The property, which stands at the corner of Oliver St. and Milner St., has a house in severe disrepair.

“Once we accept that gift, we can tear the house down,” McLendon said. “We do have somebody interested in buying that property.”