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 Building and Grounds expenditures
Kevin Bateman, chairman of the Buildings and Grounds Committee,
opened the discussion with a motion to approve the bid from Hanson
and Associates to repair the roof of the Safety Complex. The bid was
for a cost of $109,500. The motion was seconded by Chuck Ruben, and
approved unanimously without further discussion of that specific
portion of the total costs.
The second motion made by Bateman was to expend funds for additional
roof work and the installation of new HVAC systems on the Safety
Complex. Ruben seconded the motion and offered the total expected
cost of the new motion.
“If you run a quick total, it’s right at $340,000, rounded off,”
said Ruben. Ruben said the county would be expected to pay at least
twenty-five percent of the cost within thirty days of the beginning
of construction, and the remainder could be spent out of the next
fiscal year’s budget.
Bateman said the original bids were intended to fix one of the HVAC
units on the roof, but further inspection revealed the deteriorating
conditions of the Complex’ roof and other units. Bateman said the
repair company would work repairing one of the units on the roof
immediately before working in conjunction with the roofing company
in September.
“This would include a twenty-year warranty for both the HVAC units
and the roof,” said Bateman, “Once this is all done, we should be
good for a few decades on the Safety Complex.”
Bateman also said the systems being installed are also eligible for
a few grants, which can help to reduce the cost slightly. “Any
little bit helps,” said Bateman.
Jan Schumacher said this may be a good time to complete a lighting
project for the Safety Complex. This would add another $11,000 to
the cost, but rebates would reduce the overall cost to $3,800.
A straw vote for the motion to approve the expenditure of $340,000
was approved unanimously.
A third motion for the lighting project was also approved
unanimously by straw vote. The lighting would consist of mainly
outdoor fixtures and be installed by BLI Lighting out of
Bloomington, whom the county has worked with in the past.
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In order to help pay for these expenditures, Ruben made a
motion out of the finance committee to transfer funds to the
Buildings and Grounds Department. Specifically, Ruben made a
motion to transfer $80,000 from the County Farm line items to
Buildings and Grounds. This money would be used in addition with
money already in the latter to a combined total of $170,000 or
half of the total estimated cost. There was no further
discussion on the motion, and it was approved unanimously in a straw
vote to transfer the funds. Ruben said that the finance committee
was still in talks with other organizations under the county to see
where some more money can be borrowed from internally or externally.
In addition, the expected costs to repair and upgrade the elevator
system at the courthouse could cost an additional $130,000, and will
need to be addressed in the near future.
“I want to point out that all of these funds, I would like us all to
keep in mind- and it’s going to be a long time, through several
boards- at some point we will return these funds to where they came
from,” said Ruben.
Bateman said he commends Ruben on the latter’s effort to find
sources within the county operations to borrow as much money as
possible for these efforts without turning to outside loans.
Upcoming roadwork
County Engineer Bret Aukamp informed the board that resurfacing of
part of Nicholson Road is set to begin in the first week of August.
The road will be surfaced starting just on the outside of the city
limits of Lincoln, covering two miles of road.
In addition, the board approved the expenditure of funds to begin a
joint repair effort with the town of Elkhart. Specifically, a bridge
between Elkhart and Cornland will have riprap applied to it.
Board member present at the meeting were David Hepler, Kevin
Bateman, Rick Aylesworth, Chuck Ruben, Gene Rohlfs, Robert Farmer,
Jan Schumacher, David Blankenship, and Pat O’Neill. Andy Anderson,
Andy Meister, and Emily Davenport were absent.
[By DEREK HURLEY]
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