Chase County commissioners are looking for new ways to help finance a renovation of the county’s historic courthouse at Cottonwood Falls, after bids for the work came in about $300,000 higher than anticipated.
Alan Phipps of Matfield Green, commission chairman, said that alternative solutions are being considered to help bring down the price tag for the improvements.
“The bids came in quite a bit above what we anticipated and what the architect’s estimate was — $300,000 over what was anticipated,” Phipps said.
The apparent low bidder, he said, was Emporia Construction and Remodeling, owned by Paul Challender. The contract for the project has not been awarded.
Challender’s firm has been involved in several major projects in Chase County, including the jail, the Catholic church and the bridge.
“I’m sure he’s going to try to make this thing work,” Phipps said. “I have a lot of confidence in Paul. We hope he’s going to try to find a few spots we can trim this down a little bit.”
Phipps said that architects also are investigating ways to make acceptable cuts and bring the project back within budget. Leaders of the project had expected the cost to be between $1.7 and $2 million. The project came in about $2.335 million.
“It needs to be under $2 million, so we’re working on it,” he said. “We may have to take a part of the project out and go after that later on, try to get more grants or whatever.”
The preference, however, would be to complete the renovations as recommended by the architects. That will include hiding electrical lines inside wall conduits, installing an elevator, stripping down and restoring wainscoting to its original style, repairing walls and ceilings damaged by water leaks, installing a new heating and cooling system, replacing fluorescent lighting with lighting appropriate to the period, and a variety of other changes.
“We’d like to have it all,” Phipps said. “We’ve got some major things in there, elevator, heating and cooling...” Those items are priorities, though there is no guarantee they will remain in the project after it is reconfigured.
Historic architects from Treanor Architects in Topeka are expected to bring their suggestions to the commission at its Jan. 8 meeting.
How the commission elects to proceed is likely to be based on the amount of additional money that can be raised and dollars that can be cut. The group working on the project already has found several innovative ways to finance the project, including selling income-tax credits from the State of Kansas for 90 cents on the dollar.
The Jones Trust, with headquarters in Emporia, has added another $90,000 to the preservation fund, which increases the trust’s donation to approximately $300,000, and Phipps said those contributions were greatly appreciated. Donations from other sources, however, may be necessary if the renovations are to be done.
“They’re a county of 2,600 people and they’re giving it all they’ve got,” Phipps said of the population of Chase County. “The price of construction has just exploded the last six to eight months. That’s what our problem’s been...
“We’re looking at all aspects. We’re hopeful it will go forward with as few cuts as possible.”
Anyone who wants to donate to the renovation project may send contributions to the Courthouse Preservation Fund in care of the County Clerk, Cottonwood Falls, KS 66845, or to the Courthouse Preservation Committee, Charlie Rayl, chairman, 327 Broadway, Cottonwood Falls, KS 66845.