Mike Wolanin | The Republic Rick Trimpe, Bartholomew County maintenance supervisor, talks about the ongoing construction, maintenance and remodeling work happening at the Bartholomew County Courthouse in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, July 23, 2024.
The renovation of the 150-year-old Bartholomew County Courthouse was expected to take well over a year to finish.
“But now, we’re hoping construction will be completed sooner that the original 15-month estimate,” said project manager Tony Akles of Strand Associates.
Bartholomew County commissioner Carl Lienhoop expressed concern Monday hat costs are running higher than expected in the renovation of the 46,928-square-foot courthouse.
“We are approaching $3.5 million on this project,” Lienhoop said. “It’s a lot of money, but we’re hoping the stuff we’re doing will last at least 30 years.”
“We (are installing) stainless steel pipe, so it should last longer than that,” Akles said in response. The project manager is referring to pipes connected to boilers and chillers that control heating and air-conditioning.
But in spite of his fiscal concerns, Lienhoop calls the courthouse project a “good investment for the county. It’s something that has needed to be done to protect the longevity of that building.”
For several weeks, Bartholomew County Prosecutor Lindsey Holden-Kay’s staff has been operating out of the second-floor offices of Circuit Court Judge Kelly Benjamin. The judge and her staff have temporarily moved into the new Court Services building near First and Franklin streets.
“This week, we plan on moving the prosecutors back down to their (permanent offices in the) basement,” Bartholomew County Maintenance Supervisor Rick Trimpe said. “Their area is all done.”
Upgrades in the prosecutor’s office includes a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, as well as new carpet, paint, ceilings and lights, Trimpe said.
After describing the completed basement work as perhaps the largest part of the entire renovation, the maintenance supervisor said the rest of the work is “probably going to be a lot easier now.”
Starting next week, the entire third floor of the courthouse will be off-limits to the public for HVAC improvements, as well as the remodeling of the floor’s bathrooms. During this stage, Bartholomew Superior Court 2 Judge Jon Rohde and Magistrate David Nowak will move into the second floor Circuit Court space being vacated this week by the prosecutors.
On Monday, the commissioners agreed to spend an additional $43,985 for a new dropped ceiling on the third floor to match the other floors. Akles said third floor work will extend into the fourth floor attic area, where many of the HVAC units have been placed, Akles said.
In other recent developments, the original chandelier installed in 1874 within the now-Bartholomew Superior 1 courtroom has been taken down and shipped off to another state, Trimpe said. Craftsmen will refurbish the entire fixture, install new wiring and put in energy-efficient LED lights, he said.
The commissioners have known for 10 years that the courthouse was in need of extensive repairs and renovations, chairman Larry Kleinhenz said. Delays usually occurred after shifting priorities, such as widespread demand for body cameras for law enforcement, pressured both the commissioners and Bartholomew County Council into reallocating available funds.
“We’ve had ugliness pop up every year, like a busted waterline or a leaky supply line that would ruin a number of items,” Kleinhenz said. “Quite honestly, the ARP (American Rescue Plan) funds that became available gave us an opportunity to fix a big problem that needed fixing. All of us, as taxpayers, would have had to pay for it somewhere down the road.”
The American Rescue Plan provided $16,273,089 in federal COVID relief money to Bartholomew County government. All funds must be earmarked for a specific purpose by Dec. 31, and spent by the end of 2026.
The courthouse project is being funded with $2 million from the 2024 county general fund approved by the Bartholomew County Council, over $1 million from ARP funds, and the remaining balance from County Economic Development Income Tax (CEDIT) revenue.
While Akles says there will always be unknown problems when dealing with wiring and pipes hidden behind plaster walls, he says crews have been able to tackle those challenges.
Once the current project is completed, other improvements such as window and door replacements will be considered on an annual basis, the commissioners said.
