Fiscal Court approves $200,000 APC Towers lease buyout to help cover courthouse overruns

Nelson County Fiscal Court on Dec. 2 approved an APC Towers lease buyout for $200,000 and authorized the judge to sign related contracts and change orders to cover unanticipated costs on the county's old courthouse renovation. Presiding Official brought the proposal, saying the company would prepay lease payments but would not purchase the land; the county retains ownership and an emergency-antenna leaseback for county communications.

The court voted to accept APC Towers' offer after discussion of project needs. The presiding official said the $200,000 would be used to offset roughly $97,000 in change orders for wiring and installation of a speaker and camera system discovered during renovation work. He said two insurance claims (about $18,700 and $32,000) also will be applied toward the project.

The court also approved a separate motion authorizing the judge to contract with J. Rick Hill and Company to market the old library and to sign documents related to that marketing effort. The judge was also authorized to sign change orders on the courthouse project as needed, "to do some, sign the chain doors as presented," the presiding official said.

How the county will allocate the APC proceeds to specific line items and whether the buyout affects any long-term communications arrangements were discussed but not changed by vote. The motion to approve the APC lease buyout and related authorizations passed with an affirmative vote; the meeting transcript records the motion as made and seconded and reports the vote as carried.

Next steps: county staff will execute the contract documents and apply the proceeds to the renovation budget as authorized. Any future changes to the courthouse contract or additional funding requests will return to the fiscal court for approval.