The Barbour County Courthouse was built in 1903 and is on the historic register. The building is approximately 37,000 square feet, and it is a two story building with an attic and a basement. The exterior walls are made of stone and are in good condition. There are signs (a crack located in the basement) of foundation settlement. For this we recommend an engineering study to determine the cause and remedy of the crack.
The roof is the original clay tile and copper. The roof was repaired in the early 1990s, but now has a leakage problem. The skylights also have leakage problems. We recommend that the roof be repaired. The skylights should also be resealed.
The windows in this building are the original windows and they are in great condition. The doors are also in good condition. We recommend that all the exit doors have panic hardware installed onto them.
The building does not have a fire alarm system in the 1st floor, 2nd floor, or attic. There is a fire alarm system and a sprinkler system located in the basement for the jail. A fire alarm system, smoke, and heat detectors should be installed for the rest of the building to be installed. In addition, a sprinkler system for the rest of the building should be installed along with exit signs through out the building.
To improve security in this building, we recommend equipping the facility with entry-level screening using a walk-through metal detector and an x-ray machine, installing alarmed exit doors with panic hardware on non-public doors, and having card access entry for employs all other doors. Panic buttons should be installed in the clerks’ offices, judges’ chambers, secretaries’ offices and others as necessary.
We recommend that the electrical system in the building be evaluated to bring the system up to NEC codes. The heating unit in the building is in good condition. The building uses window air conditioning units to cool the building. For cost efficiency, ventilation and noise reduction reasons the air conditioning system in the building should be replaced with a centralized system.
To bring
the building up to
To alleviate the problem of needing more office and storage space for the county, we recommend a 20,000 square feet storage building be built.
Total cost of the project: $5,005,200