East Hampton's Cost for Clearing School Roofs: $225,092

So, just how much did it cost East Hampton to clear the snow and ice off the school roofs?

The four schools combined cost the town $225,092. Separately, the cost was: Memorial School, $49.025; Center School, $17,403; Middle School, $81,002; High School, $77,662.

Another $7,525 was spent clearing the library/senior center roof and the roof of the ambulance building.

The town hopes to recoup some of the expense through Federal Emergency Management Assistance (FEMA), an application that was initially denied to Middlesex County towns but is under appeal.

When questioned by the town council Tuesday night, facilities manager Frank Grzyb denied an allegation that workers hired to clear the roofs were uninsured. He did admit, however, that some damage to the roofs did occur, saying it was unavoidable.

“It was impossible to prevent the damage by walking on it,” Grzyb said. “It couldn’t be helped. [The roofs] were not made to be snow blowed.”

Grzyb said there was some damage to all the roofs to a certain degree.

“The section of the high school that was punctured was a section that needs to be replaced,” he said. “It’s so bad. We have leaks there anyway. We’re chasing 20, 30, 40 leaks this time of year anyway.”

Despite the hefty price tag, the council and Grzyb seemed satisfied with the work done and believed doing it was the right decision.

“It was either you take it off the roof … or you let it collapse if you have another storm,” Grzyb said. “I believe we made the right decision.”