Logan County Board
Building and Grounds committee hears restoration updates from Bill Walter

 

[June 06, 2024] 

The Logan County Board Building and Grounds Committee met for its monthly session at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 4th, 2024. Five of the six board members for this meeting were present. Those present included Jim Wessbecher (Chairman), Hannah Fitzpatrick (Vice Chairman), Michael DeRoss, Robert Sanders, and Kathy Schmidt. Not present was Emily Davenport.

During the meeting, board members heard from Bill Walter, Masonry Restoration Technologies & Services, LLC. As the project manager for the Logan County Courthouse restoration project, Walter discussed many aspirations for making improvements to the courthouse. These include new carpet, doors, door frames, windows, concrete replacement at the courthouse, and roofing for the bandstand in Latham Park.

Currently, the courthouse is undergoing third floor renovations. Judge Jonathan Wright has selected a dark blue carpet for the courtroom as well as the adjoining walkway to the deliberation room. This carpet color was picked out to match the woodwork, paint, and seats in the courtroom. The builders and Walter are debating if that same carpet should also be used in the first and second floor courtrooms to maintain continuity.

The committee agreed that it was a good idea to maintain continuity, so everything matches together well. They approved this project with everyone in favor.

Walter expressed a recommendation for a particular wood door and frame that would match all the other doors in the courthouse. There was a door that was already an existing door in the courthouse selected for this particular project, but it didn’t fit. There is another door in the courthouse that is the right size that’s coming from a location that’s not used frequently. The plan is to move that door to the more frequently used area and put a new door at the top of the wheelchair lift that goes into the courtroom. This project would cost $1,845 to be able to make the swap work, which Walter thinks is a good price. He has already cleared this project to be based on the ADA standpoint.

The committee approved this project with everyone in favor.

Walter and his team are replacing all the windows in the courthouse. During their time exploring options, they found that there is an existing wood frame that is in great condition that was hidden by the metal frame in the 90s. When they removed the metal frame, they found the historic frame and would like to preserve it if possible. However, they have discovered that the sealant used for the wood frame contains asbestos. The cost of removing the asbestos would be great. Therefore, Walters is not recommending that the original wood frame be exposed. Walter is requesting a change order that will include a metal frame complimentary to the window that would cover the historical wood and provide the right dimensions for the new window sash to operate as it is supposed to. He specified that this would be a smart plan just in case someone wanted to go back to the historical wood frame years from now. The original quote for the project came in high in Walters opinion, Walter expressed his concern with the contractor and was able to get it a $4,500 reduction from the original bid of $41,225 for all the windows to be replaced.

The committee approved this project with everyone in favor.

The next matter was about the concrete replacement, but Walter did not come with a plan drawing that indicated what each price reflected. He asked for this portion of the plan to be tabled until he can create a proper blueprint of each price and item that it would belong to. He did mention that a portion of the concrete replacement will be at the expense of the scaffolding company because it is damage incurred by the scaffolding. Wessenbecher requested that when Walter came back with a blueprint that he also outline what the board would and wouldn’t be paying for, and Walter agreed.

The committee agreed to table this.

Walters finished with some updates on the restoration of the Latham Park Bandstand Pavilion. He said that the new roof on the bandstand will be started soon. There is a steel entry door that goes into the underneath portion of the pavilion that’s not in great condition and requires a lot of effort to get open. The price to replace would be $1,965. Walter stated that for what they are providing, this is a good price. A new door would provide a proper latch and lock and wouldn’t require a crowbar to enter anymore. The current door requires a ton of effort to get into and also poses the risk of injury.

The committee approved this project with everyone in favor.

Walter also mentioned concerns that don’t need to be taken care of at this present time. One of those concerns was about the lantern-like lighting in the pavilion, and a submission of a crack in the tile floor in the courthouse that caused great concern for the uprightness of the building. The architects contacted a consulting engineer that happened to be in the general area and could make an appearance to take a look at the tile floor. He reassured everyone that there was no current impending danger and wasn’t a concern at that time. However, in the last couple of weeks, the same engineering company ended up emailing an invoice to Walter specifying that $5,000 was the price for the checkup service. Walter specified that he wants to express his disappointment to the engineer and that he does not plan on paying that invoice.

The board also approved the Verderber family Scully Park bench donation The new bench will match the one that was previously donated by the Lincoln Woman’ Club.

All the items brought before and approved by the Building and Grounds committee will go before the full board at the monthly workshop and voting meetings for final approval.

The county board has issued a change of date for the workshop meeting, which was originally scheduled for Thursday, June 13th. Due to the CoGFA public hearing that same night, that committee of the whole will meet on Wednesday, June 12th at 6 p.m. in the first floor courtroom of the Logan County Courthouse.

[Shelbi Fisher]