|
Logan County Board
September Building and Grounds meeting - Logan County Courthouse
Updates
[September 09, 2025]
On Monday, September 8th, the
Building and Grounds committee of the larger Logan County Board met
for their monthly meeting. This meeting took place in the Blue Room,
which is in the basement of the Logan County Safety Complex on Pekin
Street. Of the five member committee, four were present. Present
members included Chairman Lance Conahan, Vice Chairman Hannah
Fitzpatrick, Dale Nelson, and Jim Wessbecher. Absent was Gil Turner.
Also in attendance was board member Kathy Schmidt.
The meeting was a long one, in which many items were discussed. On
new business, there were thirteen items, the first six of which were
for the Logan County Courthouse and the restoration happening there.
This article will focus on those six items. For a breakdown of the
other items discussed during this meeting, see LDN’s other article
covering it.
When the committee moved to new business, the first item on the
agenda to discuss was an update for the whole restoration project.
Project Manager Bill Walter was present to give this update. Walter
shared that CAD Construction had finished the second floor courtroom
and had officially begun construction on the first floor. The areas
where construction is occurring are at the security entrance, in the
first floor courtroom, and in the judge’s office. All of these areas
are being worked on at the same time, with all of them currently
being in the demolition phase. Walter also shared that they are in
the process of completing the base of the dome.
Walter shared that they are waiting
to hear back on the IRA refund from the IRS. There are a few
questions that are being sent out to companies working on the
restoration project, and then the application will be fully
submitted. Walter stated that once the application is fully
finished, based on what he has heard from others, he is hoping the
county has a check within two months.
Walter then shared that they are currently working on meeting back
with CTS, the company that installed the new lights in the
courthouse, to send a team back out to look at them. The way the
lights were installed, they are supposed to be turning off at a
specific time each night. This has not been the case, with several
of them staying on. Many department heads shared that they are
choosing to turn them off manually. Conahan and Walter asked them to
set the systems back to automatic so they could get a list of all
the lights that are malfunctioning. Walter said that they have a
list of just about every light. They are now just waiting on a
meeting with CTS so they can send out a team to investigate what the
problem is and fix it.
Conahan mentioned that there are still three of the new windows that
need to be looked at again, and Walter said he is going to be given
the parts to fix them soon.
Nelson then asked about when all of these items are going to be
fixed. He stated that the board is not often given dates of which
things will be completed, only rough estimates. Walter said that for
the lights, he is hoping the meeting with CTS will happen in the
next week or two.
The next item on the agenda was about a discrepancy the county has
had with American Scaffolding, the company that provided the
exterior scaffolding for the courthouse. In short, the county and
American Scaffolding did not come to the same amount that was due,
with American Scaffolding having a significantly higher amount due.
Walter shared that the two groups are close to reaching common
ground, with the current amount due, according to American
Scaffolding, being just below $229,000.
[to top of second column]
|
Nelson was not
pleased with this number, stating that the numbers American
Scaffolding has been providing have been changing frequently. He
echoed his previous statement from last month’s committee
meeting, that he believes the county should bring in a third
party to conduct a forensic audit. Nelson continued his point,
arguing that no one looking into this matter are professional
auditors, including the members of the county. He said that he
is not comfortable paying whatever number American Scaffolding
comes to, reiterating that their quotes have been varied.
Conahan asked if Bellwether does audits, to which Schmidt stated
she would ask.
After the discussion about American
Scaffolding, the committee turned their attention to the matter of
modernizing the courthouse elevator. Conahan stated that he was told
an entirely new elevator is not needed, just that the “guts” will
have to be replaced. He was also told that if the “motherboard” goes
out, they would be without an elevator for several months rather
than just a few weeks minimum.
Nelson brought up a concern that the
restoration project is over budget by almost $600,000 according to
paperwork he was looking at. Conahan countered, stating that he
talked to Penny and she stated that amount was several hundred
thousand lower, but agreed that they were still over budget. He also
stated that if they cannot take this from the restoration fund that
it would need to come out of the general fund. Conahan’s reasoning
for this was that, as he stated, the courthouse could be shut down
for not having an elevator.
Nelson clarified, stating that he does not think the project should
not be done, only that he feels Logan County Treasurer Penny Thomas
should be consulted for an exact number on the amount left in the
restoration fund. Conahan stated that they would move the item to
the Workshop meeting on Thursday and would make sure to talk to
Thomas beforehand.
The next two items on the agenda were both regarding the
courthouse’s geothermal system installed underground. In the last
couple of months, it was discovered that the system needs much more
regular maintenance than was previously thought. Walter confirmed
that several things, such as the replacing of filters, had not been
done since the system was installed. Conahan also mentioned that the
fluid inside of the system is becoming discolored. Walter stated
that, while it is not the original color and that it does warrant
being tested, it is not bad. He compared the fluid in the geothermal
system to the oil in a car, needing to be replaced every so often.
It was decided that a contract would
be made with Henson Robinson to have someone come out periodically
to maintain the system. Walter shared that this is not the permanent
solution. The goal is to have someone from the county work with the
Henson Robinson maintenance person to learn how to maintain the
system, eventually replacing Henson Robinson entirely.
The final item discussed regarding the courthouse was an approval
for maintenance on the base of the dome. The amount would be
$374,470. Nelson asked when the start and finish date would be for
this project. Walter stated that this largely depends on the
weather. He estimated that he would expect it to be done by the
beginning of January, but it could run into February depending on
what the weather is like this winter. Nelson asked if the person
doing the work would be able to provide a timeline for completion to
the county should the board approve the expenditure. Walter shared
that this would likely be possible due to the worker’s familiarity
with the Logan County Courthouse. A motion was then made to move
this item to Thursday’s Workshop meeting.
[Matt Boutcher] |
