The Middlesboro Community Center is currently the center of attention for many in the community as they begin several repairs and cleanup projects that have been on the to-do list for a few months.

One of the largest tasks the crews are undergoing is repairs to the roof.

“The roof has been in need of repair for quite some time,” Middlesboro Mayor Rick Nelson said. “They had to remove the shingles and do those repairs, and it will probably take two to three days to complete.”

The problems with the roof also caused problems for the inside of the Community Center.

“The leaky roof caused damage to the front part of the Community Center,” explained Nelson. “There is water damage to several tiles, and it also caused lighting damage as well.”

Nelson explained that they are going to complete the roof repairs, and then they will assess the damage to the tiles and the lighting and file another claim to begin the process of getting those fixed.

According to the mayor, three large truck loads of trash were cleaned out of the Community Center on Tuesday morning.

“I expect there will be cleanup done every day for the rest of this week,” he said. “We just want to clean it up and make it somewhere for the community to enjoy. The pool though, that is a 50/50 situation.”

He said they are unsure if they are going to be able to open this year but they are working on getting estimates.

“We are getting some numbers to go over and discuss,” he said. “We will see what we get, and we will go from there.”

The repairs to the roof are expected to be completed by the end of this week.