Logan County Executive Summary

Front of Courthouse

The Logan County courthouse was built in 1965 and it has four stories and a basement. The exterior walls are made of marble, metal panels, and brick. There are stair step cracks in the brick, but it is difficult to determine the extent of the damage because of the marble panels on the first floor. We recommend patching the brick and repairing the water damage on the exterior of the building. We also recommend having a professional engineer perform a study to determine the cause of the cracking.

The roof is in bad condition even though it was coated last year, therefore, the county needs to put on a new EPDM roof with tapered insulation.

The building has a fire alarm, exit lights, and emergency lights, but more exit lights are needed, such as in the courtrooms.

Several things need to be done to bring this building up to ADA compatibility requirements, such as painting the accessible symbol on the pavement for the parking space, adding a sign that states the fine for illegal parking in an accessible space, and installing a curb ramp. The “accessible” entrance to this building is down a steep driveway into the garage, and then there is a small ramp into the basement door. The county needs to provide an acceptable means of accessing the first floor of the building. In addition, we recommend installing lever handles on the doors, ADA signage, ADA toilets in the accessible restrooms, and a witness stand lift.

To improve security to the building, the facility needs to be equipped with

an X-ray machine and walk through metal detector for entry-level screening. All other doors should be protected with a card access system. Exit doors except the main entrance should be protected with audible alarms, magnetic contacts and crash bars. We also recommend extending the closed circuit television system throughout the secure areas of the courthouse. In addition, there should be a security control panel, ballistic material around benches and clerk’s desk, interior electric door strike lock systems on the judges’ secretaries’ doors, and a separate phone line to provide the courts and staff with outside communication in each courtroom installed.

The electrical system in the building is adequate. Because of the roof leakage problems, some of the service panels have been exposed to excessive moisture and are rusting. Repairing or replacing the electrical service panels should be done very soon. The mechanical system in the building is in overall poor condition. There are severe problems with the HVAC system. The system does not serve the needs of the building as evidenced by the many window air-conditioners. There is limited opportunity to introduce fresh air into the building that exacerbates the indoor air quality problem. The county should completely replace the HVAC system with a new central heating and cooling system with proper controls and ventilation.

Also because of various roof and plumbing problems, mold has infected the building. A professional should test the building for the presents of toxic mold and the mold infested materials should be removed followed by a thorough cleaning of the mold infested areas. We also recommend testing for asbestos since nine by nine inch tile was observed in various rooms. If asbestos is found in the building, it should be removed or encapsulate the asbestos laden material.

The county just purchased a building to renovate into an annex for storage. We recommend completion of the renovation and renovation of the jail to give the county even more storage space.

Total cost of this project: $5,289,600

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