Supply chain issue delaying completion of Richland County Courthouse remodeling project

Al Lawrence
·2 min read

A supply chain issue has delayed completion of the renovation of the L2 level of the Richland County Courthouse and Administration Building until early fall.

Commissioners said, after approving a project change order, that while the majority of the work converting the space into offices for the Clerk of Courts and common areas for general courthouse use will be done in June, equipment for the air handling system will not be available until September.

“I believe we’ll have everything else be done on time and then we’ll be waiting on the air handler, which we ordered months ago and we still have months waiting on,” said Commissioner Chairman Darrell Banks, who noted tat the county was told the order would take 30 weeks.

“Move-in is being held captive by the last item scheduled for delivery. Right now the air handler is just one item, but because of the supply chain delays relative to the air handler that will delay the entire move in to the office until September,” added County Administrator Andrew Keller.

Federal dollars paying for the project

Commissioners awarded a contract last fall to Studer-Obringer Inc. of New Washington to do the renovation work for $1.56 million, which was 30.6% under the estimate. The project to repurpose the former county jail space includes more room for the Clerk of Courts offices and the public, record storage, public restrooms and multipurpose meeting spaces that will be separate from the Clerk’s workspace and could be used for meetings for other offices as well as grand jury sessions and places to maintain witness separation.

Commissioners designated money from the county’s federal American Rescue Plan Act allocation to pay for the L2 project. Once the project is complete, commissioners plan to remodel the space on the second floor of the courthouse that will be vacated by the Clerk of Courts into a fourth courtroom.

The discussion about L2 followed action by the board to approve a change order that reduced the project cost by $4,318 to reflect work in the contract that was done by another company. They also approved a related motion to amend the ARPA allocation for the project.

In other business on Tuesday, commissioners:

  • Approved a memorandum of understanding for a $3,427 grant from the Statewide Consortium of County Law Library Resources to buy video conferencing equipment for the large conference room in the courthouse law library.

  • Agreed to pay a new $100 membership fee to the Richland County Growth Corporation that was established to help the organization with expenses.

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Richland Courthouse remodel project completion delayed until September