Logan County Board Workshop Meeting
Logan County Courthouse Update

 

[September 14, 2024] 

On the evening of September 12th, the Logan County Board met for their monthly Workshop meeting, where they prepare for the following week’s Regular Board meeting. Among other topics, an update was given on the status of the courthouse restoration. This topic has been brought up at many meetings, including both the Building and Grounds and Finance committee meetings this month.

Board member Dale Nelson kicked off the courthouse update by giving a rough estimate of the amounts of money the board has approved to spend in relation to the cash flow they have available for the project now. According to Nelson, the board has somewhere between $1.1 to $1.2 million in cash flow. He also shared that the board still has about $1 million left to pay on the CAD contract. He further shared that the board approved five additional contracts in relation to the courthouse restoration. The total of these contracts is about $1.3 million. None of these contracts have been initiated yet, so the board does not have to pay for any of them until they are. Finally, Nelson stated that Bill Walter is currently helping the county apply for a $2 million energy reimbursement rebate. Later in the meeting, Walter was asked if this money is guaranteed, to which Walter said that it was, it will just take some time to get.

Walter also gave an update on one of those five contracts, this one being in relation to lights and the dome clocks at the courthouse. He stated that the contractor’s bid may potentially fall through, at which they would have to go looking for a bid from another contractor. Walter was fairly confident that, as of the last time he spoke with this contractor, he would still be able to complete the work that he put the bid in for. Walter did say that he told this contractor that, if by December 1st, he is not completely confident that he will be able to perform the work, they will “pull the plug.”

The major issue with this is, if the board must go looking for a new bid, it will very likely be higher than this previous contractor agreed to work for. Walter said, “if I need to go back out, there’s a possibility that the bid might come back twenty to forty percent higher than what was originally submitted.”

Discussion over replacing windows in the courthouse and the courthouse dome was also discussed. Walter stated that he expects everything with the dome, including windows, to come in somewhere in the range of $50,000-$75,000. Nelson asked when the windows are going to be able to be installed, stating that he did not believe windows could be installed once the temperature dropped to a certain level or below. Walter assured Nelson and the board that, with the material the contractors will be using to install the windows, temperature will not be an issue. Walter added that they are planning on getting more than one room done per day once the windows do start getting replaced. The people that work in the room(s) that are having the windows replaced are going to be asked to relocate for one or two days, the amount of time it will take to finish the installation.

The board did ask Walter when he anticipated the installation of the new windows was going to begin. Walter shared that they are expecting the windows to finish being manufactured by the second week of October. The actual installation should take about two months once started. An approximate date for the beginning of the installation process was not given.

Next, board member Keenan Leesman asked for some clarification on the board accepting bids when it did not have the money ready to do so. It was stated that, while these bids were accepted, the board had not started them yet, meaning they do not have to pay for anything as of yet. The board could still decide not to go with a certain contractor. It was also shared that, at any time, any of these bids could change to go up. Walter tried to quell the board’s fears that this would occur, stating that he keeps in touch with all the contractors, and they all seem to be holding tight at the original prices they bid at for now.

The final area of concern that was discussed was the flat roof around the dome of the courthouse. There have been leaks coming in through the roof, and one area where plywood is being used in an attempt to keep the water out. While the issue was brought up briefly toward the beginning of the meeting, when Sheriff Mark Landers showed up later in the meeting, it was brought up again. Landers stated that he was sent a picture of the roof the other day. “There’s a lot of plywood, scrap, and garbage up there. I don’t know why that hasn’t been cleaned up since [the contractors] are gone,” said Landers. He continued saying the bell housing is where most of the leaking is coming in. He has been telling his maintenance man Trevor to not to replace the ceiling tiles because they are just getting wet again, wasting money.

Board member Jim Wessbecher then brought up the fact that the roof has been leaking for twenty-five years. His question was what has been done in all that time to control the leak. Landers asked if the flat roof is going to be fixed and if that is a part of the restoration. Landers also made a suggestion regarding the bell, since that is the major cause of leakage in the courthouse roof. He suggested that the bell be taken down and replaced with a sound system to mimic a bell. The original bell would then be put on display outside the courthouse for everyone to see. Landers’s questions and idea were listened to, but no one seemed to have any answers or comments.

The September Regular Board meeting is going to take place next week Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. on the first floor of the courthouse.

[Matt Boutcher]