New siding and steel panels grace the exterior of the Fredonia Fire Department on West Main Street.

Work on the Fredonia Fire Department is nearing completion and Chief Ryan Walker is just happy that the building doesn’t leak anymore.

“They’ve hung the steel siding and today they’re here with a crane putting the siding up on the metal hose tower,” Walker said. “They did all of the mold and asbestos remediation. Everything looks good so far. They had to finish up hanging the steel panels. They also did a little bit of trim work around the windows, they have some roof edges to do. A few little things left and hopefully it’ll be done in the next couple of weeks.”

Walker said the contractors have some finishing work, once they get the siding up and that’s about it.

As for outside the original plans, there wasn’t much, just pipe insulation and some other small things.

“Everyone is happy so far, I just don’t want the building to leak anymore and it’s warmer,” Walker added.

At more than 30 years of age, the West Main Street building has had a history of issues, particularly when it comes to moisture infiltrating the exterior stucco, which was meant for more southern climates.

Attempts to rectify that problem — putting in additional expansion joints and caulking those in — have only resulted in promoting even more water permeation, thus causing interior damage. The department also removed some of the drywall from the outside structure, particularly the rear and front of the building near the museum.

Village officials — during a 2016 village board budget workshop meeting — briefly discussed $75,000 in building repair funds set aside in then-Mayor Athanasia Landis’ 2016-17 budget proposal.