Linn County commissioners authorize planning push for courthouse rehabilitation, pursue HPF planning grant

Linn County commissioners directed staff to pursue a Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) planning grant to develop engineering and design documents for a broader courthouse rehabilitation project, and they asked staff to gather roofing bids and insurance-payment details to move immediate repairs forward.

Sean West, public works, told the board that the HPF planning grant would cover about 60% of a planning-year contract while the county would provide a 40% match. "This grant would allow us to come up with a detailed plan through engineering cost and evaluation to put in the following year for a grant to actually physically do the work," West said. He added that grant awards in similar programs have ranged widely and county staff expect the county portion for a planning grant could be in the low tens of thousands of dollars.

The commissioners discussed separating courthouse capital accounts, tracking money spent on the courthouse separately from other county facilities, and using available insurance proceeds for roofing work, not for unrelated repairs. One commissioner said, "I would be in favor of keeping the courthouse," and pressed to begin roof repairs as soon as feasible.

County staff reported they have received an insurance payment related to prior roof damage but said the exact amount and eligible uses need to be documented with the clerk's office. At the meeting the clerk confirmed there was insurance money related to the roof and staff said they expected to have bids for restoration work within two weeks.

The board also agreed to contract with the Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission to help prepare the HPF planning grant application at no up-front cost; if the county is awarded the grant the regional planning commission would assist further under a contract. "They're willing to assist with the HPF grant at no cost to the County unless we were to ask them later if we were awarded the grant to manage or administer the grant," West said.

Commissioners told staff to pursue roofing bids that include historic-preservation expertise. Staff said an initial bid solicitation produced no qualified responses and they were pursuing a contractor recommended by the Kansas Historical Society's preservation staff, who uses Charlie Pritchard for historic roofing work.

The board asked staff to return with: (1) the 02/2017 SHPO/HPF file so the board can decide whether to close that prior application; (2) roofing bids or firm dates for bids from qualified historic-restoration firms; (3) the clerk's documentation for insurance proceeds related to the courthouse roof; and (4) a review of the courthouse capital outlay fund broken out by building so board members can see courthouse-specific balances and prior-year expenditures.

The commissioners emphasized that the HPF planning grant would cover only planning/engineering to prepare a later construction grant and that any later construction grant would require a separate match and additional budget decisions. One county official estimated the full rehabilitation could include HVAC, steeples, and other major systems and described the work as a multi-year, high-cost project.

If the grant application opens as expected, staff said the county would need funding available quickly for the required 40% match and that they would bring the grant application to the board for approval before submission.

Ending: Commissioners approved staff moving forward with the planning grant application work and to pursue historic-roof bids; staff will return with the requested documents and bids for further decisions.