Adams County says courthouse HVAC replacement nearly complete and under budget

The Adams County Board heard an update on the courthouse HVAC replacement on Sept. 15, with the project team reporting the system is essentially finished and that contingency credits will keep the work under budget.

"We are 99% complete with balancing," said Terry Bauer, the county's building representative and project manager, summarizing weeks of construction coordination that kept the courthouse open for daily business. Bauer credited the schedule assembled by county staff, Architechnics and contractors for limiting disruption and praised the collaboration among trades.

Todd Moore of Architechnics said the project had been "a wonderful project" and described the effort to design and install the new system while maintaining court operations. Moore and other contractors told the board they held weekly progress meetings and worked many holidays and weekends to meet timelines.

Bauer told the board that the team negotiated change orders and contingency adjustments that should result in nearly $1 million under the planned budget, including an $808,000 credit recorded in August and a roof contingency credit anticipated soon. "We were able to give that entire 10% of contingency back," he said.

Board members applauded the team for keeping the courthouse operational and for returning contingency funds, and the chair said the progress was welcome good news for county operations.

The board had no formal action on the item beyond receiving the report. Contractors and county staff said they would complete remaining balancing, controls tuning and minor ceiling repairs before final acceptance and warranty handover.