Commissioners decide to caulk instead of replace courthouse windows
The Richland County commissioners are going to do what many homeowners do in order to keep the winter cold from creeping into the county courthouse. The board decided at its regular meeting on Tuesday to re-caulk the original windows in the 54-year-old building rather than replace them in order to save money.
The board asked AJB Engineering Consultants of Mansfield to inspect the windows after several offices complained about air leaks. County Building Maintenance Superintendent Josh Hicks told the board that replacing individual windows is not practical because the style of window is no longer made.
“We need to do a whole side, otherwise you’re looking at different styles of window,” he said.
Hicks told the board that AJB estimated the replacement cost for all the courthouse windows between $492,000 and $648,000 depending on whether they included vents. He said it would take two to three months to get windows without vents and six to eight months for ones with vents.
“At this point, I don’t think it would be absolutely necessary that we do them all,” Hick said, adding that the current windows could be caulked to keep the air leakage “as minimal as possible.”
County Business Manager Andrew Keller said officials have not obtained a price on that option and that another possibility would be to seal and re-trim some of the windows.
“Part of it is the original paneling is almost Formica-style and is peeling away because of the condensation, but the glass itself, there is not much clouding that we see,” he said.
Commissioner Darrell Banks said the lead time for ordering would take any replacement project into 2024, which board Chairman Tony Vero noted could mean a price reduction. However, Hicks said he was told that the cost of windows rose 40% this summer.
In the end, commissioners decided on caulking, which Hicks said could be done by the maintenance crew.
Paper cost to remain unchanged for now
In the only other item of business, commissioners accepted quotes for paper products for the month of October from Friends Office of Findlay. The company has agreed to maintain its September prices for another month for a variety of paper products, including copy paper at $45.59 per carton for standard letter size and $61.99 for 8½ by 14 inch paper.
The board has been accepting quotes on a monthly basis for the past two months because of the volatility of paper prices that partly is the result of the war in Ukraine.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Commissioners decide not to buy new windows for the courthouse
