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Commissioners ratify cooling‑tower repairs, methane monitoring and radon recalibration
Summary
The board approved corrective work at the Judicial Center after staff reported corroded cooling‑tower systems, authorized four weeks of landfill methane monitoring and ordered recalibration of radon monitors in the courthouse.
Warrick County commissioners on Oct. 15 authorized a set of facility and environmental vendor actions to address immediate safety and operational concerns at county properties.
Cooling‑tower assessment and corrective action: Sherry Sievers, Warrick County acquisitions administrator, presented an engineering assessment of the Judicial Center cooling system that found corroded heat exchangers and abnormally high water temperatures. "Temperatures entering and exiting were higher than normal... 120 degrees when they should be 90 degrees," Sievers said, describing black, rusted water and large particulate buildup found during flushing. BNG proposed a chemical cleaning and system upgrades with an initial cost estimated at $17,841, a possible second cleaning of $3,741 within six months, and annual preventive maintenance estimated at $14,001.72. Commissioners approved staff's recommendation and authorized contracting to address the immediate needs; staff said about $21,003.84 is required to get through the remainder of the year.
Radon monitor recalibration: The board ratified a vendor service to send approximately 20 radon monitors located throughout the old courthouse to the manufacturer's laboratory in Massachusetts for annual recalibration at a cost of $4,800.
Landfill methane monitoring: Commissioners approved ratification of a four‑week EMC service for weekly methane monitoring in a crawl space at the county landfill (site GDP‑37) and the purchase of methane alarms (estimated $162.35 total). Staff said if no methane is detected over the monitoring period they will request a reduction in frequency and return to quarterly monitoring.
Next steps: County staff will finalize contracts and report back to the board on test results and any required additional work. Capital planning for full system replacement at the Judicial Center was discussed as a long‑term need depending on the outcome of corrective actions.
