The Starke County Commissioners received a feasibility study on the county’s buildings during their meeting Monday night.
They passed a motion in August to have Core Facilities as the company behind the feasibility study. The estimated cost from Core Facilities to have the study done was $5,250.
Core Facilities President Matt Stechly was present to discuss four projects he deemed the county would need to have done. He said two of the four projects were more pressing than the others.
Stechly said, “You guys in terms of your assets are sitting in really good shape. You really are. I do a lot of work, I think I am at 12 to 13 counties and from what I saw there are a few things you will have to address and deal with. All in all I was pretty impressed and you guys are sitting in pretty good shape overall regardless of how old the building is from the courthouse to even the annex two across the street. It was a good tour with a lot of good news that came out of it.”
Project one concentrated on the second floor of the Starke County Courthouse. It has been an issue for some time controlling the temperature on that particular floor. It was suggested by Core Facilities to have an air conditioning ductless system installed on the second floor. It was advised this option would be more cost effective than having a full HVAC system replacement throughout the whole building.
Along with the ductless system, the restrooms, carpet and fresh paint were all suggested to be done as one package for the second floor of the Starke County Courthouse.
The second project suggested dealt with the Starke County Annex building. It was advised the building’s foundation had major spalling in areas. The walkways were pointed out to have uneven areas giving tripping hazards from a liability standpoint.
The third project brought forth to the commissioners by Core Facilities was new roofs for the courthouse, the annex building and the maintenance warehouse. The maintenance warehouse roof is in the worst shape out of the three with the annex building having major leaking issues in the attic.
Stechly proceeded to advise the commissioners he would be more than willing to put together the four projects for them including the bids, specifications and quotes to save them time from dealing with multiple outlets.
When asked how much Core Facilities would charge for their services, Stechly replied if approved to move forward, he would present the four packages at a future meeting, giving the commissioners time to decide if they wanted to proceed with Core Facilities. He added he would not charge to present the projects in full at a future meeting in hopes to begin a working relationship with the county.
Stechly said, “That’s what I would propose is at least to let me get you guys four projects, the bid, specs, quotes, tours everything done. You guys then at any time, you simply sign that agreement with the lowest quote and you’re ready to run whether it’s tomorrow, whether it’s six months from now.”
The commissioners approved a motion to allow Core Facilities to go ahead and get quotes.
Stechly said he would return to a future commissioner meeting and present the project’s quotes in full.
