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Commissioner seeks phased courthouse repairs; volunteers to audit building, report Aug. 4
Summary
Commissioner Tran presented a multi-year cost estimate for courthouse, annex and health department repairs and asked the commission to authorize a volunteer-led, building-by-building inspection and a phased bidding approach; Tran will report back Aug. 4 with findings and a prioritized plan.
Commissioner Tran presented an itemized, multi-phase plan to address repairs across the Bourbon County courthouse complex, the annex building and the SEK Health Department facility. The presentation included contractor-provided lump-sum estimates for a range of work: exterior cleaning and tuckpointing, HVAC and boiler replacement, courtroom HVAC, roof replacement, fire-system work, phone-system updates, floor restoration, and IT upgrades.
Tran summarized the proposal's high-level totals and raised concerns about the proposal's lack of itemized bids: "The cost proposal does not include line item cost estimates nor bids from contractors. The numbers are lump sum amounts. There is no line item breakout," Tran said, urging the commission not to accept lump-sum estimates without verification.
Tran estimated a 10-year cost for courthouse repairs in the proposal documentation at more than $1.1 million and said the annex and the health department work add to that total. He called for prioritizing envelope (roof, windows, tuckpointing) work first and recommended the county require itemized bids, a performance work statement (PWS) for procurements, and three competitive bids when practicable.
Because the county lacks a formal operations-and-maintenance (O&M) budget and a maintenance staffing plan, Tran proposed leading a volunteer inspection team of county citizens to document defects and prioritize repairs. He pledged volunteers would not charge the county; he asked for authority to inspect spaces only when building occupants invited him inside.
The commission voted to authorize Commissioner Tran to inspect the courthouse and related buildings with volunteer assistance and to report back on Aug. 4 with a prioritized assessment and recommended procurement approach. The motion included a weekly status update commitment to the commission.
Ending: Commissioners discussed the trade-offs between deep rehabilitation and replacement of aging facilities; Tran and commissioners emphasized the need to avoid mission creep, demand line-item bids, and involve the judiciary and other building stakeholders in prioritization and scheduling to limit operational disruption.
