Bids to repair courthouse range from $1.3 million to $2.1 million
RICHMOND, Ind. — Wayne County's commissioners Wednesday received four bids to repair the courthouse's exterior.
The project includes repairing cracks and replacing damaged limestone blocks to protect the courthouse from water damage through the cracks.
Wayne County Council budgeted $3 million for capital projects this year in anticipation of the courthouse project.
The bids were:
$2,100,000 by Quality Masonry Company of Marion, Ohio;
$1,750,000 by Burglund Construction of Chicago;
$1,679,000 by Lee Restoration of Delphos, Ohio; and
$1,305,000 by Midwest Maintenance of Piqua, Ohio.
The commissioners voted to refer the bids to LWC for consideration. LWC will then make a recommendation to the commissioners.
They also approved 2-1 an updated quote from Whisenhunt Construction of Richmond for renovation of the coroner's office in the courthouse basement. The renovation will locate the coroner's cooler in that area.
Whisenhunt's updated quote of $59,490 is a $2,779 increase.
Commissioner Mary Anne Butters voted no. She is opposed to locating the cooler in the basement.
Commissioners also received and awarded bids for gravel and liquid asphalt for this year's Community Crossings projects.
Mike Sharp, the county's highway supervisor, recommended awarding two gravel bids. US Aggregates of Richmond was awarded a $12.60 bid per ton for 1,308 tons, at $16,480.80 total, and IMI of Greenfield was awarded a $12.15 bid for 2,681 tons, a $32,574.15 total. US Aggregates gravel is used for projects in the eastern part of the county, and IMI gravel is used for western projects.
Asphalt Materials of Indianapolis received the bid for liquid asphalt at $2.258 per gallon for 91,308 gallons, a $206,173.46 total.
Commissioners unanimously approved Sharp's recommendations.
A unanimous commissioners vote allows Sheriff Randy Retter to pursue an annual $5,000 grant from Drug Free Wayne County Partnership to fund the agency's DARE drug education program.
Retter said the money will provide learning materials for the 2022-23 school year.
He has expanded the DARE program to include seventh-graders, and said he plans further expansion to higher grades.
Christine Stinson, the executive director of the Wayne County Health Department, received unanimous commissioners approval to apply for a grant that would fund two part-time positions in response to new regulations involving lead investigations.
The state is reducing the lead levels necessary in children's blood to trigger case investigations and home inspections. The July 1 reduction is expected to result in an increased workload of 59 cases.
The positions, which still must be approved by council, are a nurse and an environmentalist.
COVID, mosquitoes, ticks
Stinson also reported to commissioners that COVID-19 cases are increasing.
The Indiana State Department of Health on Wednesday reported that preliminary case numbers show 73 cases and one death during June's first week. Overall, the state reports 19,206 laboratory-confirmed and 332 deaths from COVID-19 complications among county residents.
The latest Wayne County COVID-19 death was a man in his 60s died June 2.
Stinson said Reid Health is also seeing an increase in COVID-19 patients, reporting nine in the hospital, including seven who are not vaccinated. She recommended that residents who are not vaccinated or who have not received booster shots do so, because she expects numbers to continue rising into the fall and winter.
"The cases of COVID-19 will spike," Stinson said. "We will see the same roller-coaster we've seen in the past."
She recommended continued frequent hand-washing and wearing masks when in groups.
Stinson also said residents should be aware of mosquitoes and ticks.
Mosquitoes that carry diseases, she said, are container breeders, so residents should be aware of standing water in areas such as tire piles, abandoned pools and septic systems.
Ticks also carry diseases, so residents should check themselves for ticks after being in high weeds. The health department will provide tick removal kits and tick identification cards.
This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: Bids to repair courthouse range from $1.3 million to $2.1 million
