Extreme winds damage roof of Phil Gainer Community Center
ELKINS, W.Va. (WBOY) — High winds and heavy rain battered West Virginia on Sunday causing damage to several structures across the state, including the Phil Gainer Community Center in Elkins.
On March 16, Elkins' City Operations Manager Mike Kesecker said that he received a call that afternoon informing him of roof damage to the Phil Gainer Community Center (PGCC); the roof of the center's gymnasium had been peeled back by the wind.
'It's a rubber membrane roof, it had been peeled back and damage had been done,' said Kesecker. 'Because the roof had been peeled back, it also allowed for some leaking to occur inside the gymnasium of the building.'
Upon noticing this damage, Kesecker stated that they reached out to personnel to help get the membrane rolled back onto the roof and temporarily tacked down as soon as possible to prevent any more water from getting into the building.
Kesecker said they also worked to clean up debris around the building to make sure that nothing would blow out into the streets. The City of Elkins also temporarily closed down the road below the Phil Gainer Center for traffic, to ensure that everything was cleaned up.
Once the city was able to confirm that everything was picked up and safe, they opened the road back up to traffic on Monday morning. The City of Elkins has already submitted a claim to its insurance company and is now waiting to hear back.
Kesecker told 12 News that the classroom and office spaces at the PGCC are still available for public use. However, use of the gymnasium until the PGCC knows that the temporary work done on the roof will hold until permanent repairs can be made.
'The Phil Gainer Center is a vital part of the community here in Elkins,' Kesecker said. 'The city owns the building, [Elkins Parks & Recreation] operates it for use and it's used for multiple events.'
'It's a key part to the community and it's really a shame that this happened,' he added. 'We're gonna try to get it fixed as quickly as possible so we don't have to delay and cancel a lot of events there and move them to a different location.'
Strong storm responsible for structure damage across WV
Kesecker said that hopefully the delay will be minimal and repairing the gym will be a priority to avoid any impact on the upcoming Mountain State Forest Festival.
At this time, the City of Elkins does not have a projected timeline for when the PGCC's gymnasium will be reopened for public use. However, Kesecker said that they plan to start the repair process soon after hearing back from the city's insurance.
No other city property sustained significant damage during Sunday's storms according to Kesecker. You can view official updates from the City of Elkins here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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