Board discusses options for Logan County’s jail and courthouse

 

[October 16, 2018] 

LINCOLN 

At the Logan County Board Workshop on Thursday, October 11, there was some discussion on the upcoming referendum for the public safety tax that would help with courthouse dome repairs and jail expansion. The previous referendum for the public safety tax failed last spring, but it will be on the ballot again this spring.

Sheriff Steve Nichols talked to the board about the courthouse and plans for the referendum this spring.

Nichols said he spoke with the sheriff from Crawford County. There they had an assessment that gave two options. In Crawford County, option one was for a new 12,000 square foot building, demolition of the old building, and site development at an estimated cost of $5.5 million to $6.3 M. Option two was adding 16 more beds, doing renovations, demolition, and site development at a cost of $4.6 M to $5.4 M.

Nichols said for the jail here, the only option that has been discussed is expanding the jail and renovating certain parts of it.

Nichols said there is space not being utilized in the courthouse because of the building itself.

Nichols showed board members recent photos of the inside of the courthouse He has had the rotunda roped off again due to chips coming down because the plexiglass has not slowed that down. Nichols said in addition, the third-floor courtroom “leaked like a sieve last week during all the rain.”

Nichols said he has talked to people and told them the referendum is for the courthouse and the jail. He said, “They are all in on the jail, but they are not all in on the courthouse.”

Nichols said, “I think you better take a hard look at this and decide which way you want to go. He said spending $4 M on a dome that is just going to continue to give us problems in an old building does not seem like good use of $4 M when that will probably take you 33 percent of the way to a new jail and courthouse.

Nichols said they are “fighting an uphill battle” and if both are on the referendum, neither one is likely to pass.

Chief Deputy Mark Landers said they asked the architects that are doing a basic feasibility study for the jail what it would take to get option two on the table. He said it would be another $25,000 for engineers to look at expansion, who would have to talk to the county’s judges, clerks, and state’s attorney to see what is possible and whether the land we have is sufficient to make that happen.

Landers said he thinks the public should be given two options asking whether they want to repair the dome and do a jail expansion or whether to do a new complex at the jail.

Nichols said a new facility would hold 70 to 80 inmates. The jail we have now holds 65 inmates.

Board Chairman Chuck Ruben said he knows a study is needed for decision making purposes. He said Effingham had built a Law and Justice Center a few years and he asked Nichols to contact them about that cost.

Ruben said if costs are reasonable, maybe the county could afford to do that.

Board member Dave Blankenship supported giving the public an option, he would still suggest a feasibility study regarding the tiering off of the expenses of the other facility, so the public has got a good idea of the plans. He said that way, they are not just looking at the dollars and cents to build, [but] they are looking at how much revenue we would decrease in expenditures by not trying to maintain so many facilities.

Blankenship said there are all sorts of feasibility studies and they would not have to do an excessive one, but could do a basic study to figure out what they are going to save in insurance and on utilities. He said it might be something to consider incorporating when presenting the information to the public to see how they feel.

Board member Scott Schaffenacker asked Nichols if he would like two separate referendums.

Nichols said, yes, because it could help them pass.

Board member Kevin Bateman said there is not enough maintenance staff to maintain the Courthouse and when he suggests work to be done, it gets overwhelmed by other work orders. Bateman said he would get more involved if needed by fixing the leak on the third floor.

Bateman said it is on an old building, but they have had studies done showing the bones of the Courthouse are still strong and the dome suffers from lack of maintenance.

Nichols said he agreed with Blankenship that doing a study on utilities and water usage and everything else is going to be as important. He said if we are going to the public and asking them to spend money, they deserve to have all the numbers.

Nichols said it is better than pouring $4 M into a dome that is an “eyesore” needing continuous repairs, when the whole building needs repairs. There is excess space that is not being used and maybe in a different building, they’d utilize the space more efficiently. He said maybe the dome could be removed and a new roof could be put on.

Ruben said he wants a generic building architectural plan put on the board agenda for Tuesday and then if we determine from what is brought forward that we want to spend the $25,000 [for a feasibility study], we could go ahead and do it.

Ruben said we are going to have to get rolling because it is going to jump up on us quicker than we think.

Bateman said if we are spending the extra money for a feasibility study, we have to include the cost of removing the dome and making the building weather tight. Fixing the leak must be part of any options.

Blankenship said it seems a little premature to only discuss two options in this forum when you only have a few minutes to discuss it. He said there are probably other options available and more time is needed to explore that.

Bateman said fixing the leak must be part of any option.

Ruben said under constraints of what the board is trying to pass, we have $10 M, so if we see that a new Law and Justice Center would cost $15 M, we either have to figure out another thing to put on the ballot to raise more money or we would have to go with a lesser plan to fit the dollars we have available to spend.

Ruben said we can go forward with this fairly quickly because if we get rough figures, it may be a “moot” point to even consider these other options if it is going to over expend the amount of money available.

Board member Gene Rohlfs asked what the $4 M to be spent on the dome would include.

Bateman said it would cover the removal the entire exterior structure, putting a new copper dome on it with a 100-year warranty, fixing the interior dome, and putting a glass structure in and plexiglass structure over that so the stained-glass portion would always stay.

Rohlfs said it sounds like if that would be done, then the maintenance on the dome after that would be minimal.

Board member Bob Sanders said we need to weigh all options. Many counties have a jail in the courthouse for security purposes. He said utilities would likely be less than what they are now.

Blankenship said energy efficiency audits have shown it is hard to keep up with the preventative maintenance that will keep the mechanicals and HVAC on all the buildings.

Blankenship said he is not in favor of tearing the Courthouse down, but he wants to know what constituents say about it. He thinks we should find an option to retain this facility that is beautiful, cohesive with downtown Lincoln, and good for tourism.

Blankenship said looking at raw dollars and cents and what he sees looking at these buildings in his profession, then we have got serious problems. If we look at the other way and the public is willing to go along with it and spend extra money, that would be good wisdom because we are going to gain efficiency.

Bateman said a recent energy audit showed the courthouse is one of the most energy efficient buildings. He said putting $40,000 to $50,000 in the budget to hire someone who just does building maintenance would help.

Blankenship said business continuity would be easier to maintain in one facility than in multiple facilities.

The board will consider options after they hear more about architectural plans.

[Angela Reiners]