Barry County awards $179,366 contract to Cofile to preserve historic plat maps

Emily Reed, Barry County register of deeds, asked commissioners to approve a proposal from Cofile to preserve and reimage 926 plat pages from the county’s historic plat collection. Reed said many of the original plats date to the 1830s, were laminated on cardboard, and produced poor microfilm images that are difficult to read.

"Some of which were laminated and really falling apart," a Cofile representative said, describing a conservation process that removes lamination and tape, repairs pages, places each sheet in a protective non‑sealing pocket and reimages the documents for the county vault and digital access.

Reed said the project will be paid from the Register of Deeds Automation Fund, a statutory fund created from a portion of recording fees, and that sufficient funds exist to cover the project. The proposal was presented as a four‑payment schedule with the total not to exceed $179,366.20; Reed said the final cost may be lower if blank pages are identified and not imaged.

Commissioners expressed concern about the per‑page cost and the larger public records value; the board moved and approved the contract by roll call.

Why it matters: Redigitizing original plat maps preserves legal and historical land‑use information (lot lines, easements, lake access) that is often needed by title companies, surveyors and residents. Improved images will reduce the need to retrieve fragile originals.

Next steps: Administration will execute the agreement with Cofile and schedule the work; the register of deeds office will provide an update if the final cost differs from the not‑to‑exceed amount.