MOULTRIE, Ga. — You probably missed it — no one made a big deal about it — but the building that houses the Colquitt County Arts Center marked its 90th birthday this year.

It opened as Moultrie High School in 1928 and served students for 50 years until the opening of Colquitt County High School on what’s now Veterans Parkway.

“In 10 short years it’s going to be 100 years old,” Arts Center Director Connie Fritz said.

And, unfortunately, it’s showing its age.

Earlier this month, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation named the Arts Center to its 2019 list of “Places in Peril.” Fritz explained that the list represents structures across the state that the trust believes are in danger and are worth saving.

The first problem the Arts Center officials had, of course, was that they were handed a building that was more than 50 years old when they walked in the door in 1983. A renovation was completed in 1986. Beyond that, though, the Arts Center’s tight budget left little room for maintenance.

“We’ve done what we could, as we could,” said Fritz, who became director in 2016 but was involved with the center long before that. “It’s just not been enough to keep up with the age.”

Within the past year or so, the Arts Center reached out to the county government for help maintaining the building, Fritz said, but the county commission couldn’t help because it isn’t a county building. As a courtesy, County Administrator Chas Cannon and Mac Lawson, director of the county’s maintenance department, assessed the building’s needs and produced a report calling for $1.6 million in repairs and upgrades.

Among their findings:

• Loose, rotting and missing fascia and trim need to be replaced to prevent water intrusion. There are seven different pieces of trim at 1,600 linear feet per run, which totals 11,200 linear feet. Fascia are the boards that cover the ends of the rafters, but the problems described also include missing or rotten crown moldings (the rounded trim right next to the roof) and damaged soffits (the flat board on the underside of the eaves).

• Most exterior doors need replacing because of rotting wood or veneer separation from being exposed to the weather.

• Part of the Arts Center is served by window air conditioners, some of which don’t work. The report urges that the window units be replaced with wall pack units to control humidity. Controls need to be in place to monitor and set scheduling to maximize energy efficiency.

• There were also a variety of cosmetic issues that came to light, including damage to the center’s iconic cupola, and landscaping that needs to be done.

Fritz said being on the Places in Peril list can attract attention across the state from preservationists and donors with an interest in the subject. It also opens the door to on-site training by the Georgia Trust on Historic Preservation. Dennis Lovello, historic properties coordinator with the trust, will be at the Arts Center’s board meeting Jan. 28 to begin the planning process, she said.

She hopes it will result in a maintenance schedule that will help the Arts Center address the building’s needs over time and in a capital campaign that will bring in money to pay for it.