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The Elkhart County Courthouse will be undergoing renovations in the near future.

The Elkhart County Courthouse will be undergoing renovations in the near future.

GOSHEN — Some major renovations could soon be coming to the historic Elkhart County Courthouse.

The Elkhart County Commissioners Monday approved two additional appropriation requests connected to planned renovations at the courthouse in downtown Goshen.

Included among the approvals was a request by Elkhart County Administrator Jeff Taylor for an additional appropriation of $213,550 from the county’s General Fund for the initial phase of a planned window rehabilitation project at the courthouse.

“The Goshen courthouse is in need of quite a bit of work, and we’ve talked about this before, but for the benefit of others, the steps, the roof and the windows need attention,” Taylor said in beginning his request. “The steps have been awarded. The roof is in need of some work, but we can hold off maybe a year or so, and the reason for that is the lack of contractors and high prices. So, we’re kind of kicking the can down the road for now.

“The other thing that’s looming is windows,” Taylor added. “If you’ve ever been in there and inspected the windows, they’re in need of some attention. So, as part of the RFP that was put out and awarded to DLZ, the window fee is $213,550. That includes project management, the investigative phase, the design and construction documents for the design for bidding, then the bidding phase, the construction phase, construction/inspection, and there’s some money in there for any reimbursables such as mileage or anything like that.”

For his part, Commissioner Brad Rogers aired some concerns about the overall project, noting that the more than $200,000 additional appropriation requested Monday does not include what it will cost to actually repair and/or replace the windows.

“My concern is, this is all a prelude to the actual cost of the windows, which you’re estimating to be what, a couple million?” Rogers asked of Taylor, who responded in the affirmation.

“It could be,” Taylor said of the project. “It could be up to $2 million.”

Rogers then questioned the rational of paying for an investigative phase for the project instead of simply choosing a company to do the work outright.

In response, Taylor explained that the county could go that way, though he felt it would be more prudent given the historic nature of the courthouse to try and find someone with the appropriate skills and historic knowledge to best guide the county through such a renovation.

“What we wanted was somebody with some skill in architecture, historic architecture, to walk us through the opportunities that we have there,” Taylor said. “So, for instance, in the investigative phase, one of the big hurdles to overcome is, do you replace all the windows? Can we replace all the windows?

“The Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana chimed in and said that, to give you an example, that the window panes can actually be replaced with I think it’s a double pane,” Taylor added. “So, right now we have single pane windows with plexiglass over the interior to keep the wind from blowing in and out. And rather than going in and just summarily replacing them all with new windows, there was a lot of coordination, a lot of discussion, a lot of design that went into determining that the county can actually stay in good graces with the Historic Landmarks Foundation — because it is a historical structure — and get a good, quality, draft-free window put back in that’s going to probably help save on heating and cooling and that sort of thing.”

In the end, the commissioners agreed with the current plan for the renovation, and the requested additional appropriation was approved unanimously.

In related action, the commissioners approved a request by Taylor for a $160,000 additional appropriation from the county’s Cumulative Capital Development Fund to go toward the planned renovation of the courthouse steps.

“Back in August the commissioners and the council approved an appropriation of $185,403 to go toward this project from the Cumulative Building Fund,” Taylor said of the project’s history. “That’s a fund that had a balance that needed to be closed out. So, both boards approved that amount.

“But the total bid for the steps is $345,000,” he added. “So, another $160,000 from the Cumulative Capital Development Fund would make up that amount total.”

Taylor noted that the current plan is to begin the renovation project in the spring of 2023.

The requested additional appropriation was approved unanimously.

In other business, the commissioners:

• Approved a $700,000 additional appropriation from the county’s Major Bridge Fund needed in order to overlay and replace the joints on the northbound Johnson Street Bridge in Elkhart.

• Approved a $900,000 additional appropriation from the county’s Economic Development Income Tax Fund for construction costs connected to the C.R. 40 — Ind. 19 to C.R. 7 buggy lanes project.

• Approved a $100,000 additional appropriation from the LIT Special Purpose Fund to pay for a new water softener at the Elkhart County jail.

John Kline can be reached at john.kline@goshennews.com or 574-533-2151, ext. 240315. Follow John on Twitter @jkline_TGN.

John Kline is city and county government reporter for The Goshen News.

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On Friday, Goshen College unveiled its new mascot, Dash the black squirrel. Goshen College Athletic Director Erica Albertin said in an April statement that a black squirrel mascot “represents our institutional and athletic personality well; fun, energetic, friendly, confident, enthusiastic, strong, clever, quick, and small but mighty.” What do you think of Goshen College’s new mascot?

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