HARMONY — Borough council Tuesday approved new roofing material for a historic building in a split vote.

In a 4-3 vote, council approved the Murray Agency to use asphalt shingle material for the Weingartner House on Main Street. The building was constructed in 1810 and is in the borough’s historic district.

Mayor Cathy Rape gave the tie-breaking vote for approval. One council member was not present to vote.

“Ideally it would be wonderful for all roofs to have a slate roof,” Rape said. “But I don’t see that happening and it doesn’t happen in other historic towns either.”

The Weingartner House did not have slate roofing when it was constructed.

“It was cheap at the time and numerous people knew how to do it,” Rape said of slate roofing. “Now it’s unaffordable unless you’re really wanting to invest in your home.”

Council discussed the matter at its regular meeting Nov. 2. Tuesday’s meeting was a continuation of the regular meeting.

The Murrays said using asphalt shingle roofing was a cheaper alternative to a new slate roof.

The Harmony Architectural Review Board initially voted 3-2 to recommend denial of Murray’s request in October.

However, the board later redacted the recommendation, asking the Murrays for more information on bids to repair the roofs.

Murray Agency President Patrick Murray said final bids showed slate roofing would cost four times that of asphalt shingle roofing.

“We’re glad council voted to allow us to do the asphalt roof, as they have allowed other people in the past to do as well,” Murray said.

Rape said she believes the HARB should have options available for people wanting to do improvements to their buildings rather than leaving it up to people to come up with their own solutions.

“The Murrays were not anticipating having this problem,” she said. “I just thought it was unreasonable.”

While the review board can recommend approval or denial of architectural requests made to the borough, council has final say on requests.

“I think we as a borough need to understand that the world has changed and that the cost of some of these older materials are now prohibitive,” said council President Greg Such, who voted against the measure. “We need to look at modern alternatives.”

Such said he voted against the measure and tried to push for a compromise from the Murray Agency and the Harmony Architectural Review Board.

Councilman Don Sims, vice president, said metal roofing that looks similar to slate roofing may have been a better alternative. He voted against the measure.

“I wanted to support the HARB,” Sims said. “They made their decision and I was hoping they would somehow make whatever corrections that both parties needed to make.”

Murray said the agency hopes to install the new roofing “before the snow falls.” He also said the agency will try to keep the building’s historical aesthetic.

“We’re glad to be part of the community and we’ll continue to do our best to keep our properties well-maintained,” he said.

HARB President Brett Shank was unavailable for comment.