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Frosty
Offices
County questions results
of courthouse renovations
Wayne White | Managing Editor
Maybe sooner than everyone hoped, recent frigid winter weather is
challenging energy renovations at the Osage County Courthouse, and
Mother Nature is winning.
County officers gathered last week to discuss progress of the $1.1
million project that has included replacement of the courthouse’s
heating system and window air conditioning units, and installation
of interior storm windows, lighting efficiency upgrades and water-saving
low-flow faucets and fixtures.
As of last week, all interior storm windows had not been installed,
though workers were finishing renovations in anticipation of the
project’s completion after the first of the year. Commissioners
have scheduled a walk-through inspection of the project at 1 p.m.
Jan. 5. As part of the regular Monday meeting, interested persons
can attend the tour and view the renovations.
In July, as the project was beginning, Nathan Whitney of Trane,
the energy contractor selected to oversee the project, told officers
the heating system should be in working order by the time heat was
needed in the fall.
Several county officers complained that although heaters have been
operating, the heating system is not keeping offices warm.
Commissioners Carl Meyer and Larry Woodson first heard concerns
from Osage County Attorney Brandon Jones during the Dec. 15 meeting.
Jones, whose office is on the first floor of the courthouse, said
that although ductwork has been installed, his office is not staying
warm.
“I walked in my office this morning and it was 57 degrees.
In my front office it was between 58 and 60,” Jones said.
He said he had turned on a space heater to increase the temperature
“but my hands are freezing, it’s hard to type and write.”
At the time, his office lacked the installation of two storm windows,
he said.
“I don’t see how two more storm windows is going to
make a difference of 13 degrees,” he said, noting 70 degrees
would be a comfortable temperature in which to work.
“I’m concerned if that’s going to be the temperature
in my office, that’s unworkable,” Jones said. He said
another contributing factor was that heat ducts are at ceiling level.
“I don’t know how that heat is going to drop down,”
he said.
Other officers agreed that the temperature had been unstable since
the heating system was first put into operation. County appraiser
Stacy Berry said a duct in her office continuously blew cold air.
“It never blows out warm,” Berry said. “We’d
rather have no air blow out than cold air.”
Osage County Treasurer Jo Ann Hamilton said one of her offices was
at 42 degrees when she arrived that morning. One of the windows
had been sealed with cardboard, she said, and the cardboard had
blown out. She said another office had no heat at all.
County cartographer Becky Bartley said her office remained cold,
but, “The women’s bathroom on first floor, it’s
the coldest place in this whole building.”
District court clerk Charna Williams said her third floor office
has remained warm, and was at 77 degrees at the time of the meeting.
In July, as the project was about to begin, Whitney warned there
would be a possibility of temperature differences throughout the
courthouse.
Jones also prompted discussion about workmanship on the project.
He said storm window installers ignored his warnings about the amount
of clearance needed to install his office’s custom-made wooden
blinds after the interior storm windows were installed.
“One of my big things I’m upset about – they came
into my office to install storm windows,” Jones said. “They
just started drilling into the wall. They didn’t talk to me
about the fact I’ve got custom wood blinds to go in those
windows … they didn’t take that into consideration.
I stopped them.”
He said that after he told workmen three times, the windows were
still installed without enough clearance for the blinds.
“I’m not going to be able to put my wood blind back
in there that I spent about $1,000 for to have custom blinds put
in my office,” he said. “It doesn’t seem like
they have taken into consideration we need to put window treatments
up to keep sun out and keep people from looking in.
“Where they welded, the sparks shot in our office and burned
the carpet. They didn’t have a drop (cloth) down. Boxes of
files they were throwing sparks on, I moved so it didn’t catch
fire.”
Jones’ complaints about holes remaining in walls, mud and
dirt on carpet, pipes sticking out of the floor, unfinished trim
around ductwork, and damage to interior furnishings were echoed
by other county officers.
“Somebody stepped on one of those antique bookcases –
someone stepped on top and broke it down,” said county land
use coordinator Sheila Dale. She said newly installed ductwork is
different colors, and “there are holes around windows that
haven’t been painted; there are more cracks in the walls than
I had before.”
Williams said several electrical fixtures were not working in her
office, some had not been completely installed, and workers in the
attic had made holes in the ceiling.
Dirt and dust also had collected during the project, with officers
requesting a cleaning crew to clean the courthouse after the project
is done.
“It’s nasty, between the water damage and everything
else,” Berry said.
Bartley described her office, saying, “It’s extremely
dirty back there, mud splattered all over the floor, broken tiles
on the floor, it’s a mess back there.”
Hamilton noted that water damage in her office, that occurred after
a rooftop rainwater drain became plugged in August, still has not
been repaired. Carpeting, tilework and painting will be required
to repair water damage that affected several offices in the courthouse.
Hamilton said the contractor is not expected to be able to work
on those repairs until after the first of the year.
With commissioner William Prescott absent, commissioners assured
officers that their concerns would be addressed.
“I think its safe to say we intend to address all of these,”
said Woodson. “We need to address it because we all need to
be comfortable, we all need to have these things corrected.”
Woodson said the officers’ lists of concerns would be turned
over to Whitney.
“I’m not the cheerleader for Trane,” Woodson said.
“But with Trane we thought we got the best we looked at. I’m
going to be optimistic they’re going to do a good job for
us. We don’t want a cold courthouse any more than you.”
In other business, the commission:
• approved employment of Bryce Romine as emergency preparedness
director at $16.33 an hour. The part-time job is set at less than
20 hours per week. Romine, of Lyndon, has been on the fire department
for 30 years, served in the Army Reserve, and owns Romine Texaco,
in Lyndon.
• approved purchase orders in the amount of $3,200 for a pair
of night vision goggles and $2,402 for boots, LED lights, tactical
lights, all for the sheriff’s office, with funds coming from
the special prosecutor’s fund; and $766.50 for folders, DVD
holders and dividers for the county attorney’s office.
• accepted a resignation from Pam Lawton, a clerk in the appraiser’s
office.
• agreed that Bartley could encumber funds to purchase a new
computer.
• approved a conditional use permit for Mike Garrett
and Robert Schick to allow storage testing and display of commercial
fireworks, and to establish a fireworks school north of Carbondale.
• approved a conditional land use permit for Phillip Gordon
to allow a custom paint workshop at 12342 Topeka Ave., Carbondale.
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