Extension building on track for mid-July move-in date
People coming in from out of town for A’ROR’N Days this week will no doubt notice big changes have taken place over the last year at the 131-year-old Hamilton County Courthouse on the square. However, the ongoing construction project is not expected to impact activities taking place around the building during the celebration.
After more than a year of discussions with restoration architect Jerry Berggren of Lincoln, the county commission awarded a $1.4 million bid to Kingery Construction of Lincoln in early November of 2024. Under the contract, restoration and repair work was to include upgrading the mechanical room and fire suppression system on the ground floor of the building, construction of a drainage system to carry runoff water away from the foundation of the structure to prevent further deterioration of the sandstone building blocks and to replace the stairs at both the east and west entrances as well as a number of the crumbling stones around the base of the building.
Work on the mechanical room was started in 2025 and included the replacing of the large pump that supplies water to the building’s sprinkler system. A key component of the work, the replacing of the building’s large electrical panel, took place while the building was unoccupied over the Thanksgiving weekend. The project was finalized this spring with the completion of a new fire escape door located near the building’s handicapped entrance.
The drainage project, while having been responsible for the digging that took place around the building, is nearly complete as well. Several weeks ago a trench was dug diagonally across the north lawn of the courthouse in order to install a drainage pipe that would carry runoff water to the city storm drain at the northeast corner of the property. The pipe was originally supposed to follow a more direct path to the corner but had to be rerouted to put it farther away from a fresh water line coming into the building. The new route meant the sidewalk along the street had to be removed and later replaced after the pipe was installed.
County Business Administrator Pat Shaw says the drainage pipe has been tied into the storm sewer and water from around the courthouse is now being dumped into the storm sewer. He said that portion of the project is now all but complete. The only things left to be done are making the courthouse downspouts empty into the concrete ground level gutter system (referred to facetiously as “The Moat”) installed around the base of the courthouse and installing a metal grating over the gutter. Shaw said those last two items won’t be completed until all the base stones are replaced in a few weeks.
Shrubs planted in the area within a few feet of the foundation were removed as the project began last year due to their potential to hold water near the building and rainwater that falls on the rocked area around the building will be channeled into several large storm drain grates situated around the courthouse.
Stone replacement
Along with the weather, the stone work portion of the project has been responsible for most of the delays over the past few months, according to Shaw.
“That’s kind of been the whole problem with trying to get a timeline from day one,” he said. “These stones come out of a quarry in Colorado, and so during the winter they kind of shut down. It’s a one lane road up there, and I think out there they’re having a hard time getting personnel to work too.”
The stones are being taken from the same Colorado quarry from which the building’s original blocks were cut. Shaw said further delays have been caused by stones that were delivered but had cracks in them.
“They got in eight pallets of the big stones for the base, which is four in a pallet, and of them they rejected five pallet loads.”
Shaw said while the fissures are small, over time they could create big problems.
“The water could get in there and eventually just pop it off, so they rejected those,” he said.
The crew is still awaiting delivery of 18 large stones including the curved ones that go around of the base of the bow windows at the north and south ends of the building. Shaw said it’s not known when they will come in, but says he has been impressed with the work of the stonemason crew from Mid-Continental Restoration Co, Inc.
Meticulous work
“I’ve been impressed with those guys, they’re not cutting any corners,” Shaw said. “Those guys are meticulous.”
He said while the stones have been cut to a rough dimension at the quarry, they must be cut and shaped again on site for the proper fit. Then the stones weighing between 550-700 pounds are set using a small forklift and then shims and large pry bars.
While admitting that the uncertainty of delivery dates and the weather make it hard to predict a completion date, Shaw said that portion of the project could be done by mid-July or August.
The final stage of this first phase of the courthouse restoration project will be to tuck point the exterior of the building on the first two levels. Shaw said Berggren is scheduled to attend the county commission meeting on Monday to give and update and discuss that portion of the project.
At any rate, Shaw said the ongoing construction shouldn’t greatly impact A’ROR’N Days activities on the square this week. The stones that are yet to be set will be moved off the parking lot closer to the locations where they will be installed to make room for the pole vaulting and other activities. And the construction trailer and other materials will also be moved offsite.
Extension building
Meanwhile, another county construction project is moving along at a brisk pace toward a completion date sometime next month. The new county Extension building at the fairgrounds which was started last fall is now fully enclosed and crews have been working on finishing the inside of the structure, according to Shaw.
“I can be a little bit more confident on that (completion date),” Shaw said. “Right now the drywall is all in and finished, and on Friday the painters are supposed to be there to paint the offices and the restrooms. When they get those done, then they can do the tile in the bathrooms.”
If the work continues at that pace, which Shaw said will depend on the availability of subcontractors for projects like installing the flooring, he believes the building could be ready for occupancy by the middle of July.
That would mean that Extension employees can be moved in before the start of the county fair the last week of July.