Facilities director outlines multi‑year capital backlog; committee warned $700,000 annual allocation is insufficient

Aurel, facilities staff, presented a multi‑year facilities restoration plan showing deferred maintenance across county buildings and flagged roofs, elevators and custom historic windows as the most expensive upcoming needs. Aurel told the Facilities and Infrastructure Committee that the county’s recurring facilities restoration allocation once ranged from $800,000 to $1.4 million per year but now has been reduced to a proposed $700,000 for 2026. "We can't afford doing all of this with 700,000," Aurel said, summarizing the gap between projected work and available funding. The presentation listed near‑term projects the facilities team identified for 2026–2027, including: replacement of a 50‑year standing‑seam roof on the courthouse annex and associated gutters and trim; elevator modernizations in multiple buildings (elevators dated 37–38 years); door replacements at the main courthouse (front pivot doors with obsolete hardware); resurfacing and repaving of several staff and public lots; and parking‑lot and site repairs at Human Services and Public Works. Aurel also described work at the public library (masonry, facade repair and possible future structural reconfiguration) and the Public Works vehicle garage roof, noting that solar arrays on several roofs complicate replacements because the panels must be removed and reinstalled. On solar arrays, Aurel said some rooftop solar installed under prior programs is nearing the end of leases and is nonfunctional in places; removing and recycling older panels is costly and can affect roofing schedules. Committee members and staff discussed alternatives such as ground‑mounted solar, PPA (power‑purchase agreements) and solar canopies to reduce conflict between roof life cycles and panel lifespans. Committee members asked for the facilities spreadsheet to be circulated to the full legislature and for facilities and finance staff to develop a coordinated capital strategy, including bonding or other financing. "This is deferred maintenance. It's starting to we pushed it off so long that now we have to address it," Aurel said. Ending Committee members requested the detailed spreadsheet and asked administration to work with budget staff to identify funding mechanisms (bonding, grants, reallocation) and to return with prioritized, costed options for 2026 and the next five years.