|
Logan County Board
November Building and Grounds Committee Meeting
[November 12, 2025]
On Monday, November 10th, the
Building and Grounds Committee of the larger Logan County Board held
their monthly meeting in the Blue Room of the Logan County Safety
Comple. The meeting was set to start at 5:30 but due to there being
a lack of a quorum, it did not start until 5:39 p.m.
Present committee members included Chairman Lance Conahan, Vice
Chairman Hannah Fitzpatrick, and Gil Turner. Members who were absent
included Jim Wessbecher and Dale Nelson. Also in attendance were
board member Kathy Schmidt, her grandson Alex Schmidt with A5
Lawncare, Logan County Treasurer Penny Thomas, Administrative
Assistant Madelyn Hinton, Bill Walter, and Austin Haskins with Davis
Houk Mechanical, who attended the meeting virtually.
After attendance was taken and the previous month’s meeting minutes
were approved, Conahan moved the committee on to old business. The
first item was regarding getting a backup internet provider for the
courthouse. Conahan stated that he is going to try to get a hold of
I3 Broadband to see if they can come in and set that up. The idea
behind this would be that, if Xfinity, the current provider, goes
out, the courthouse would have a backup service that they can use.
The second item on the agenda for old business was regarding a
retention policy for county emails. Conahan shared that, currently,
he is not sure if the county has an official policy on this or not.
A representative from Heart IT, the county’s current IT service
provider, is looking into the matter. The county needs to have all
emails saved in the event of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
request. Heart IT has been working with the county for the last few
months to get a system set in place to save all emails on cloud
storage.
This then led the committee to new
business. Conahan stated that, since there were several guests in
attendance who were present regarding some of the new business, that
he would go out of order to get to their matters first.
The first matter Conahan addressed was bids for mowing and snow
removal. He shared that no one had submitted any bids for snow
removal, and that they only got one bid for mowing, that being from
Alex Schmidt with A5 Lawncare. The bid came in at $34,480 for the
year, which amounts to $4,310 per month. The properties Schmidt and
his company would be taking care of include the courthouse, Scully
Park, Latham Park, the Logan County Animal Control building, and the
John D Logan building.
Schmidt stated that the bid is based on 30 mows a year. He stated
that, should the weather necessitate them to mow more, then the
county would not be charged more, describing it as getting “more
bang for your buck.” He also stated that, due to the requirement of
paying prevailing wages, he had to take that into consideration when
making his bid.
There was some discussion over A5’s moving services. It was stated
that they provide lawn care service for many places in town,
including Timber Creek Assisted Living, Tidal Wave Auto Spa, Lincoln
Memorial Hospital, and many more. Schmidt also explained that, on
the days that he would mow the courthouse, his company could start
as early as 7:00 a.m. and would likely be done before 9:00 a.m.
A discussion over the price was then had. Fitzpatrick asked what was
budgeted, with Conahan sharing they budgeted $40,000 for both mowing
and snow removal. She then stated that the price seemed high and
asked if the county was looking into hiring a maintenance person.
Her argument was that, if they were, and since the county has a
mower, they may not need to hire a mowing service come spring time.
Conahan shared that they were not looking into maintenance at the
moment. Kathy Schmidt then stated that she felt the mowing service
was needed, asking Fitzpatrick if she had seen the courthouse lawn
this year and describing it as “horrid.” She then showed Fitzpatrick
some pictures to support her statement.
Alex Schmidt then commented on the price, stating that he came in
lower than he would have liked to. He stated that having to pay
taxes, prevailing wages, and upkeep his mowers is very expensive. He
also stated that he bid what he did because he knew that no one else
would have been able to bid that low and he would get to contract.
He said that he wanted the contract not just because it would lead
to a lot of community visibility, but that he knows that his company
can do a good job. Alex Schmidt continued, saying that he loves
seeing people get excited about and enjoy outdoor properties that he
mows. He then stated that he loves Lincoln and that he wants “to see
this town succeed.” Wanting to help as much as possible, he said
that if that means he loses a bit of money “so be it.” The committee
then took a role call vote, voting to send it to the Workshop
meeting on Thursday for a full board vote.
The next item was regarding reviewing contracts for the geothermal
system at the courthouse. Previously, it was stated that Henson
Robinson was being considered for maintenance service of the
geothermal system. Since that was last discussed, Henson Robinson is
no longer the primary company being considered for this contract.
Davis Houk Mechanical is now the primary company being considered.
[to top of second column] |
Haskins, who was
present representing Davis Houk, stated that their company could
come out either quarterly or semi-annually. If coming out
quarterly, two of the visits would be very hands-on cleaning and
maintenance of the system, while the other two would be more
simple maintenance such as changing filters, cleaning drains,
etc. If the committee decided to do the semi-annual visits,
those two would be the more involved ones. The price for two
visits would be $19,562, while the price for four would be
$32,910.
Conahan stated that he would like to have more visits at first,
but seeing as how their price is over $30,000, they would have
to go out for bids and take the lowest one. With the two visits,
not only would they not have to go out for bids, the committee
could approve it without full board approval seeing as how it is
under the $30,000 mark.
Walter also vouched for Haskins and his company, stating that he
was impressed with how personable they have been. He stated that
he was comfortable with them, and the people at Veregy were also
comfortable with them. Conahan echoed this, stated that he has
been impressed with them. Haskins also stated that they like to
have a select few people be responsible for a single project,
that way the same people come out each time. This way, their
employees not only get to know the people they are working with,
but their system as well.
It was decided to go with the semi-annual option, with the
possibility of adding more visits if needed. The committee took
another role call vote, and all three members voted to approve
it. Haskins stated that they could make their first visit in the
next two to three weeks at the earliest.
Next, Walter gave his update on the courthouse restoration. He
stated that the replacement windows for the dome are being
crafted, with them being planned to be installed soon. He also
stated that they are exact replicas of the windows that were
there previously. The “crib” for the bell is also being put
together, and once all that work is done, the roof will be
sealed.
The stained glass windows are being planned for installment over
Christmas, with that and all other work currently being planned
for completion by January 7th. CAD Construction is planning on
being finished with the security area by the second or third
week of December. Walter also stated that the plumbing and
electric work are going well.
Walter then spoke on the exterior elevator that is currently
being renovated as well. This work is being done due to the very
likely possibility that it will break down. If it breaks down,
the courthouse will have no access for people with disabilities,
being in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Walter stated that the contractor they are working with is
trying very hard to make sure that the elevator is up to code
but also trying to come up with creative solutions to keep from
going too high over the previously stated price.
Once the work begins, Walter stated, the elevator will be down
for six weeks. Turner then asked about what can be done for
people with disabilities while elevator is down. Walter stated
that they are currently working on finding a lift service. He
also stated that, according to the contractor, they can expedite
the process to twelve days, but the contractor is expecting that
to cost about $25,000 extra. While the committee was a bit
hesitant at first, Turner stated that he is for the idea. He
argued that $25,000 and a lift service for twelve days would
likely be less expensive than a lift service for a month and a
half. Walter stated that the cost for all the additional things
they have to do is expected to be somewhere between $100 and
$150 thousand extra.
The last two items were discussed
quickly, as Fitzpatrick had to leave due to a personal matter.
Walter gave a brief update on the scaffolding invoices with American
Scaffolding. Previously, American Scaffolding had a different price
than what the county did on what was owed, with some of the invoices
American Scaffolding was claiming were not paid the county was
claiming were. In addition to this, American Scaffolding had a
change of ownership around this time, leading to some of the
committee members being skeptical that their paperwork was in order.
Walter stated that both parties are coming close to an agreement on
what amount still has to be paid, but an official number has not yet
been given.
The last item was regarding a company called Telephony. Conahan
stated that, at the moment, the county is paying about $5,000 per
month for phone services. He is going to reach out to the department
heads to get some feedback on what they need regarding phone
services. Due to some other work that is being done, they can
potentially get that phone bill down to $1,600 per month.
With this last information being shared, a motion was made to
approve the bills, then to adjourn.
[Matt Boutcher] |
