Restoric approved to begin Logan County Courthouse interior dome mitigation

 

[December 06, 2019] 

At last week’s Logan County Board Regular session, Buildings and Grounds Chairman Dave Blankenship had bids for the Logan County Courthouse dome interior repairs available for the board's review.

Blankenship said he agreed with restoration specialist Bill Walter’s findings on the report.

One bid was from RD Lawrence, who Blankenship said worked on the Capitol Building in Springfield. Blankenship said they altered the specifications and told him their alterations were more usual and customary with industry standards.

For Blankenship, the problem is that a lot, if not all, their mitigation work would have to be torn out at a future date if the county does a restoration project.

When the bid specs were written, Blankenship said they were written at a minimum standard to keep costs down.

Blankenship asked the board to authorize him, Mr. Walter and Sheriff Mark Landers to work with Restoric. He wants to upgrade the specifications to a level that will enable any work done up there to remain intact if restoration is done. If they go with the initial specifications, they would be throwing money away.

In talking to Mr. Walter about it, Blankenship suggested putting up a lightweight steel framing suitable for multiple worker’s foot traffic. It would also enable architectural and engineering work to be done for a more sufficient ladder to access the clock and cupola.

What Blankenship said he is suggesting is framing with steel scuttle panels on hinges, so if future work is done, nothing has to be torn out. If the board goes out for bids as is, most if not all of it would have to be torn out, which Blankenship said they would be throwing money away.

Another downside to the minimum standards is not having enough additional protection above the glass dome for the polycarbonate (a tough resin in glass). Blankenship said upgrading and having something that would be left in permanently for future work would not waste revenue.

Board member Chuck Ruben, who chairs the Finance Committee, said the problem is that project would be well over the bid minimum. He said they would be required to get new bids for anything above this bid. He does not see how to do it in a timely manner and legal way.

Several contractors have been contracted and Blankenship said he wants a contingency plan.

Since the problem needs to be fixed soon, board member Annette Welch said realistically, she is not sure the county can afford to wait.

Board member David Hepler asked how long it would take to have bids back and Blankenship said he could have them in seven days.

Board member Cameron Halpin said he recalls Walter saying in emergencies, bid times could be shortened, but not eliminated, and asked if that could be done.

Due to the emergency, Blankenship said time could be shortened and he could probably get bid specs in 48 hours. He thinks the response time will be quicker this time.

With an emergency, Hepler said he thought they could waive the original bid with a majority vote.

If changing the bid specs, Logan County State’s Attorney Brad Hauge said they would need to go out for new bids.

Since the board is just looking at mitigating a problem for now, Ruben said he thought $55,000 for the work would do and would be better than spending additional money on something they may not get to use. He asked about the use of the platform after in place and whether the value of it would offset any additional costs. If not used later, Ruben said it would be better to remove the platforms.

After considering bid specs and risks, Blankenship said it likely would be used later and he thinks it would be good to pursue the upgrade rather than throwing more money away at mitigation.

Welch said the whole point is, it is an emergency and she thinks the work should be done in December and not delayed. She said the other work could be up to $200,000, and the current figure of $55,000 is more affordable.

Halpin said he appreciates what Blankenship has proposed and would love to be able to do that. However, if the board were to go out for bids again, with two days for bid specs, then going out for bids that could take 7-14 days and having a special meeting within ten days of a signed proposal, we would be getting into the Christmas season; it might be January before the work got started. Halpin said he does not think we have that kind of time.

Hepler said he thinks it is critical to begin work in early December rather than late December or early January.

Looking at what has led to the need to mitigate, Blankenship said patience is worth it.

Board member Scott Schaffenacker asked if the original bid spec was just to put something over the oculus and interior dome to keep debris from falling.

Blankenship said the original plan had foam, two-by-fours and 3/8 inch decking that would not put more than one person up there to work if there is a leak.

Board member Jim Wessbecher asked whether anyone has contacted the state about emergency funding from the Capital Bill? Board Chairman Emily Davenport said Brenda Clark had written a letter to the governor, but it has not been declared an emergency and she is not sure what needs to be done for that.

Representative Tim Butler told Blankenship the governor is waiting on revenue sources from gaming to build up, so it could take a while.

If the board has to wait two weeks for bids, Ruben said they may get into January before work can be done and they may as well wait to see if the referendum passes in March. He asked why the board should spend around $100,000 two months away from the referendum.

The board can find $55,000 for mitigation now, but would be hard pressed to find $110,000 if that is what the new bid came to. If the referendum passes, Ruben said it could mean surplus money dedicated to the courthouse work. The county could bond $12 million, but Ruben said with interest rates, even $13 M or $14 M could be bonded.

For safety and protection, Landers said Walter told him 3/8 inch sheets of plywood, a moisture barrier and another sheet of plywood on top would help mitigate the problem. That structure would allow Lander’s maintenance staff to get out and mitigate water issues.

With the need to bid within grasp for the safety issue, Landers said the longer they wait, the more they push off, and Walter gave what we were looking for in that price range.

Welch then motioned for the Restoric bid for $55,136.

The motion was approved with 10 yeses.

Hepler voted no.

The board also approved Blankenship’s motion for a budget amendment to take $6,307 of the Sheriff's budget from deputy salary line item. The money will be used for mitigation work of the Logan County Courthouse roof and a boiler repair.

Board members present were Dave Blankenship, Emily Davenport, Janet Estill, Bob Farmer, Cameron Halpin, David Hepler, Chuck Ruben, Bob Sanders, Scott Schaffenacker, Annette Welch and Jim Wessbecher. Steve Jenness was absent.

[Angela Reiners]