Floyd County courthouse work nears as LEC construction concludes

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

The Floyd County courthouse won’t look quite like it did when it was built, after new windows are installed as part of an update project.

The members of the county Board of Supervisors voted at their regular meeting Tuesday to not approve a $6,258 change order to add muntins to the windows, as the board continues to look for ways to chip away at the new law enforcement center and courthouse update price tag.

Muntins are strips of material that separate individual panes of glass in a window. In the case of the new courthouse windows, they would have been decorative rather than functional — giving the appearance of separate panes of glass but actually having just a single pane per window frame.

The original courthouse had windows with muntins, but they haven’t been part of the courthouse exterior design for many years. The more familiar site now is the panels in the tops of the window openings, many of them supporting individual room air conditioners.

Supervisor Doug Kamm said about the decision to forego the muntins, “It’s a crying shame not to do it, but under the circumstances. …”

Supervisor Roy Schwickerath agreed, noting if the muntins are not added to the windows now when they are replaced they likely never will be. Still, he said, considering the cost, he agreed with rejecting the change order and said that in the future few people will likely even be aware of the decision.

Supervisor Linda Tjaden said this is another in what the supervisors say is a long list of items that were left out of the plans for the project that should have been included originally by the architect.

The county is nearing the end of the new law enforcement center project, which includes a new county jail, Sheriff’s Office, dispatch center and emergency management center.

Some work has already begun on the courthouse, especially where openings have been cut through the exterior wall to connect to the new atrium that sits between the courthouse and the LEC. The atrium includes handicapped-accessible elevators and restrooms serving all floors of the courthouse.

The most significant courthouse work, including installing a new heating and cooling system to hook up with the LEC’s new HVAC system, installing a fire sprinkler suppression system, installing all new windows, and renovating the top floor where the jail and Sheriff’s Office are currently located, has yet to begin in earnest.

The supervisors approved the latest pay application by the project construction manager, The Samuels Group, for $304,062, bringing the total spent on the construction part of the project so far to $13.37 million. There is still $2.7 million in construction work left to do, including the planned work on the courthouse, according to the pay app.

Total cost of the project has been estimated by the county at $18.13 million, including construction costs, architectural costs and soft costs.

Also at the meeting Tuesday afternoon, the supervisors:

• Approved selling a piece of county-owned property formerly known as the Hummel property for $3,000 to adjoining landowners Lyle and Sandy Clayton. There were no comments for or against the sale received from the public during a public hearing held on the matter.

The lot, at 1726 Woodland Drive, Charles City, located off of Highway 18/27 between Charles City and Floyd, was acquired by the county in 2017 after property taxes went unpaid.

• Approved renewing a development agreement with the Charles City Area Development Corp., contributing $65,000 a year to the organization for three years for a total of $196,800, with $18,500 of that amount each year ($55,500 total) coming from tax increment financing (TIF) revenue from the Southwest Bypass Urban Renewal Area, which the county manages jointly with the city of Charles City.

• Approved allowing the Floyd County Fair to post a banner on courthouse property advertising the county fair this week.

• Appointed Kathy Herrick, the former county 911 manager and Charles City Police Department administrative assistant who recently retired, to a six-year opening on the Civil Service Commission.

• Approved a preconstruction agreement with the Iowa Department of Transportation regarding the Floyd interchange project. The construction of the elevated interchange will require several access points to Highway 18/27 (the Avenue of the Saints) to be closed, and so the state will need to build frontage roads to several properties in the area to avoid them becoming landlocked.

The county agreed to take over maintenance of those new frontage roads, and the state will pay the county $165,000 to assist in the upgrading of two blocks of a farm-to-market road in Floyd that will become much more heavily traveled when the interchange is opened.

• Discussed changing hours at the Floyd County solid waste collection site southwest of the county fairgrounds at 1090 Packard Ave. The site, for drop-off of solid waste by rural county residents, is currently open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.

Site worker Karen Smith suggested several options, including being open Monday through Saturday and closing earlier on some days, or being open on Saturdays only in the summer.

County Engineer Dusten Rolando said he had no preference, but noted that many people use the site on Saturdays or later in the afternoon on weekdays.

The supervisors made no decision on changing open times, but did take up a discussion on working conditions at the site.

Scott Andrews, a Charles City resident, said he had become aware that the office on the site has no running water, and the only restroom facilities are an outside portable toilet.

He called that situation “cruel and inhumane,” especially in the winter, and asked the Board of Supervisors to rectify the situation.

Supervisor Kamm said with the current budget situation, “It isn’t going to happen this year,” but Andrews said it should be possible even if a fundraiser is needed to raise the money.

“These are county employees,” Andrews said. ‘It shouldn’t have to wait another winter.”

Kamm said he would investigate some options and costs and bring that information back to the board next week.

Rolando said, “Anytime she’s had concerns she’s brought them to my attention,” referring to Smith, but she hadn’t mentioned any concerns about restroom facilities. There is a drinking water cooler in the trailer, he said.