Board sets 24-25 budget, mill levy
Despite a last-minute suggested alteration to the plans from County Commissioner Francis McDonald, the board of commissioners on Monday voted to go forward with plans to begin a long-planned courthouse renovation and restoration project.
Preservation architect Jerry Berggren from Lincoln was on hand for the meeting to present a set of revised plans for the first phase of the project, which will include improve drainage around the structure, replace some deteriorating stones near the foundation and replace the front and back steps of the nearly 130-year-old building.
Berggren said since the previous meeting he had attended on Aug. 19, when the board took an impromptu tour around the outside of the courthouse, he had added several pages to plan to reflect changes his company had made to the bidding documents. He said an alternate bid had been added to the proposed drainage system to include a plan that would collect the rainwater at the downspouts and carry it out to the city storm sewers at the edge of the property. As originally planned, the drainage system would consist of a ground-level gutter placed around the building. Berggren said prospective bidders will be able to bid the different plans individually.
The architect said he had also included information in the bid documents about stones near the entrances that need to be replaced now due to their advanced state of decay.
“We just felt it was very important to be as clear as possible,” Berggren said, in explaining the expansion of the plans.
Berggren said he had also included an alternate bid for brass rails for the new sets of exterior stairs, noting that the brass would “dull down” over time and stand out less than the originally called-for aluminum rails, which would remain shiny.
He said if the plan was approved by the commission on Monday, advertising for bids would begin on Thursday and a pre-bid conference for contractors would be held in Aurora on Oct. 8. The bid opening is currently set for Tuesday, Oct. 15. The bids would then be reviewed and presumably presented to the county board the following Monday.
In discussion of the drainage system, McDonald suggested that rather than channeling all the runoff water to the storm sewers, it might be used to water the trees on the courthouse lawn using a French drain type system.
“I wish we had more thinking before we got to this point,” McDonald said. “I lay at night thinking about this.”
Berggren responded by saying the idea was plausible but said it would add more expense to the project and would require removing the existing irrigation system. He also said it would delay the process of letting bids for the project.
At any rate, Berggren said he did not expect actual construction to begin until spring, mostly because of the time required to order and ship the new stones that are needed.
After further discussion and a few moments of contemplative silence, Commissioner John Thomas offered a motion to approve moving forward with advertising for bids which was seconded by Nancy Salmon. The motion passed on a roll call vote with McDonald voting against.
County budget set
Following two public hearings held immediately before the regular meeting on Monday, commissioners approved the county budget, tax asking and mill levy for the 2024/25 budget year. The commission approved a tax request of $5,439,82 for the fiscal year. County Business Manager Pat Shaw said the proposed spending by the county represented a 3 percent increase over the previous year.
The mill levy was set at 14.2 cents per $100 of assession property valuation, which Shaw noted is a decrease from last year’s 16.6 cents rate because county valuations increased by 17 percent over last year.
Commission Chairman Rich Nelson said much of the credit for holding the line on budgets goes to the county officers.
“It’s a challenge,” Nelson said. “But I think we’re fortunate in this county that we have a team of people in office who are conservative, when the price of everything has gone up.”