Roofing work will soon be in the offing for Temple Israel’s main sanctuary and its Isserman Auditorium.

“We’re putting on a new roof and the board has committed to the project,” said Rabbi Amy Feder. “We have had some leaks and we’re going to make our building watertight again.”

The roof, which is not original to the structure, is now set for replacement though no exact start date, cost or square footage figures were available. Planning work however, is already underway. Once begun, it is hoped the project can be completed in five months.

“We’re still negotiating the contract,” said Eli Montague, executive director of the local Reform congregation.

Montague said that TI had done several other roofing projects around the lower part of the main building and at the school over the past five or six years. A white reflective coating, which helps with energy efficiency, was used in those projects and will be employed in this one as well.

Feder said this was the last of the TI roofs that needed to be done.

“No one wants leaking in your sacred space so it was severe enough that it was definitely time to do the work,” she said.

She noted that the March board meeting broke into applause when the measure was passed.

Feder said some areas will be closed for safety during construction and services have been being held in the main chapel where many services are held normally anyway.

“We’ve had one or two services that we’ve held in more creative locations,” she said. “We’ve had a few that we were very lucky we were able to do outside. We had a confirmation service and a Rick Recht concert and service one Friday night, but aside from that it really has not affected our regular worship schedule.”