by Olivia P. Tucker
Intern Reporter
Last Wednesday, June 15, Scott County Commissioners received estimates for repairs and replacement of a cracked beam in the roof of the original courthouse from Royalty Roofing of Seymour and Thomas Plastic Machinery of Scottsburg.
While Royalty was replacing the roof covering on the courthouse addition earlier this year, structural damage was found in the support beams of the original 1800’s courthouse which closed the circuit courtroom it covered.
The total cost for Thomas Plastic Machinery to do the repairs was $99,750 and would not include Royalty Roofing removing the roof shingles and decking from the original deck. The price Royalty Roofing gave the Commissioner, according to President Mike Jones, was $65,000. If Royalty Roofing was to do both jobs the cost would be $218,000.
But County Attorney Zach Stewart put any decision the roof repairs on hold.
“I’m going to throw a little bit of a wrench into the works, “ said Stewart, “You have approved a structural engineer prepared plan. That plan has to be submitted to the Indiana Department of Homeland Security before we make structural changes to a building. You can not approve any one to start work or do anything until we do that.”
Commissioner John Lizenby asked “How long are we talking here to get the permits?”
“Normally, with plans like that, you get them through a six month time frame,” said Stewart, “I think it can be communicated that this is an emergency situation.”
“We were told that in an emergency situation that we do not have to go out and bid any kind of job for any of this property,” said Jones. “So I think what you’re asking now is to file something with homeland security for a design. We aren’t really changing the designs or anything. We’re repairing something.”
Stewart said that the commissioners would have to get an approval for those repairs with Jones questioning “even for a repair?”
“Yes, You’re going to touch the structural part of the building,” said Stewart.
“So this means we are just at a halt right now on hiring a contractor. It sounds like we can’t do anything to this building until we get the state’s approval,” said Lizenby.
Lizenby also addressed a concern of the structurural integrity of the first floor and whether to add supports because of not knowing how long the damage has been at the courthouse.
“We might not have known about it for 20 years but we know it now. And we got a (first) floor of people that could possibly be at risk,” he said
Commissioner Randy Julian said that Thomas Plastic Machinery was planning to support the first floor. However Lizenby pointed out that couldn’t be done until Homeland Security approves the plan. “But we need to secure the bottom floor to keep people safe now,” said Lizenby.
Though it’s uncertain that the first floor could collapse. But Lizenby said that he believes in Murphy’s Law and just wants to prevent an event from happening that everyone would regret.
The Commissioners decide to table the decision until Homeland Security was contacted.
In another matter, a public hearing has been scheduled for Monday, July 11, to receive public comments on making the intersection of Cutshall and Slab Roads a 4-way stop. A legal notice for the proposed ordinance can be found on page 5 of this issue of the Times.