Logan County Courthouse dome raises great concerns

 

[October 18, 2019] 

On Tuesday, October 15, the Logan County Board held its Regular monthly meeting. One focus of discussion was the condition of the Logan County Courthouse dome.

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

In their packets board members had a packet with a questionnaire Building and Grounds Committee Chairman Dave Blankenship said he sent MRTS restoration specialist Bill Walter about the condition of the dome.


Bill Walter inspects copper on the Logan County Courthouse dome.

By mid-August when these photos were taken, Lincoln had not seen much rain for quite a while. Yet, there was water pooling on the courthouse roof.

Walter recently did an inspection on the fiberglass roofing of the dome and made a six-inch incision in the dome. He told Blankenship water flowed out of it for over 20 minutes.

It has evolved into a fairly dangerous situation and Blankenship said it could become even more critical during the freeze and thaw cycle in the winter. When the sheets expand, there could be numerous failures.

With that much water behind the roofing materials, Blankenship said it could likely cause large quantities of the fireproofing cement material to break away.
Blankenship said he wanted to bring it to the board’s attention because it has reached a critical point.

Blankenship said Logan County Sheriff Mark Landers has done an excellent job of mitigating the leak issue, but the fireproof coating could become a serious issue. He wondered if we should withhold public access to the third floor and whether county employees should sign a hold harmless agreement because of the risks.

Ruben asked if Walter made just one incision. With the dome being such a massive structure, Ruben said he feels Walter should make multiple incisions before the board decides what needs to be done.

Blankenship said he will check and see how many incisions Walter made. Video evidence from employees shows water running from different locations, so Blankenship said there is a good chance it is full of water.

There was a question from Wessbecher about whether anyone has dealt with or shown the insurance company the problems, but county board administrative assistant Brenda Clark said they had been told insurance would not cover the dome. An insurance adjuster looked at the third-floor damage.

Wessbecher asked if insurance would cover it if something falls on an employee and Clark said probably not. Wessbecher said he thinks someone needs to contact the insurance company and see what the insurance will and will not cover if someone gets hurt.

Jenness asked if the adjustor looked at the problem in its current state and what would be covered.

The insurance adjustor was here in May when it was in a previous state and Clark said her understanding is that the insurance adjustor told them if there was water damage to the ceiling, it would be covered since that hazard has been mitigated.

Welch said her understanding is that the insurance company will not insure the dome for damage because it was damaged by deterioration over time, but we are covered when we mitigate other issues.

If “cementitious material” or “small projectiles” fell off the dome, Blankenship said the insurance company would not likely cover it because the problem with the pre-existing condition of the dome has not been mitigated.

Chairman Davenport asked Blankenship whether he was suggesting we “encapsulate,” [or enclose] the dome before the March referendum and whether he had a cost estimate on doing that.

Blankenship said encapsulating the dome may help mitigate some of the problem. He said the cost may be in the neighborhood of $700,000, but he has asked MRTS if that amount could apply towards the restoration project and was told it could.

After adding up the numbers on the handout, Halpin said he came up with an amount of $450,000.

If the dome gets encapsulated, Sanders asked if insurance would then cover it.

Though Blankenship was not sure, he said it would need to be run past CIRMA (Counties of Illinois Risk Management Agency). He said chances of it being covered may be more likely since the dome would dry out. If we have a rough winter, there may be more problems that could cost the county even more.

Rather than waiting until the voting session the third Tuesday in November, Hepler said the board should act now and show it is taking steps to mitigate the problem.

Welch asked Landers for his feedback on the issue.

Landers said he thought an inspection by Dewberry found no structural issues with the dome. He is concerned that if the concrete inside the dome is a problem, it could cause a problem for the whole building.

There is not a structural risk right now, but Blankenship said there could be if the problem is not addressed.

Though he thinks the problem needs to be fixed, Ruben said the county has depleted its reserves in the Airport and Farm fund and he does not think we can come up with $450,000.

Sander said if the county cannot afford encapsulation, he thought weep holes [which would drain off accumulated water] might buy some time. Blankenship said he addressed weep holes in the questionnaire he sent to Bill Walter.

In the questionnaire, Blankenship also asked if the weight of the encapsulated water pose additional structural risks and was told at this point it did not. However, if left unchecked, there may be a calculated structural risk.

If the county can find money to encapsulate the dome, Wessbecher said maybe we should. The state has emergency money and he said perhaps the county could check to see if some was available.

There was a question Blankenship had asked Walter about netting to cover the dome’s interior and whether it would intercept falling materials and whether it would be prudent or just impede dome leak containment.

Blankenship said Walter’s response was netting the interior would intercept falling materials, but he is not sure it would capture all of them. Walter said if the exterior dome was encapsulated, he did not think interior netting would be needed.

When the plexiglass was put in after the stained glass was taken out, Sanders said he thought they put up a floor to work under the dome plexiglass and asked if we could do that again.

For Jenness, the concern is funding, and he asked if dome encapsulation would become an eyesore if the referendum does not pass.

Regarding the weep hole option, Schaffenacker asked if that was something the courthouse maintenance people would do. He does not consider that a band-aid, but an aid going forward in the restoration project.

Blankenship would rather have professionals do it. Because there is a possibility that pockets of water could come through weep holes, Blankenship said he sees those as five percent effective.

Landers said we have mitigated the water leaks and were told the dome is structurally sound. If the problem could affect the whole building, Landers asked whether we need a structural engineer to check it again. He said it sounded like there was a fear of concrete falling through the plexiglass.

Even though Walter said such an event is not likely, Blankenship said Walter told him it could possibly happen, so that is the dilemma. Walter’s structural engineer, however, did not see a problem with the structure.

Blankenship asked about perimeter fencing four to six feet back from the third-floor railing but said he did not ask how far back the dome penetrates the offices.

Welch said she wants to take the problem seriously but would like a second opinion since anything could happen. She asked whether it would be reasonable to get a quote on netting and have a special meeting.

Ruben said we would have to put up scaffolding on the dome and pay rent on it. Then if the referendum does not pass, we would either have to take down the scaffolding or keep paying rent for another year to get it back on another referendum. It may cost the county down the road if things do not happen.

If the restoration of the dome is contingent on the referendum, Blankenship said based on what he has seen we need to act now. He is not sure we will have another year without a massive problem. Taking on more water will be a risk.

[Angela Reiners]