New courthouse reaches half-way mark

Less than half of Morgan County's courthouse fund has been spent so far, but Milestone Construction Services is closing in on the middle of its contract timeline to complete the $10.5 million public building.

County officials have paid out nearly $3.5 million of that contract so far.

While ground was broken on the courthouse in September of 2008, construction work didn't begin until November. The construction contract's deadline is April 4, 2010, said Maxie Maggio, the county's courthouse project manager.

That leaves nine months of an 18-month timeline until the new public building should open for business.

Maggio said the next three weeks should include interior work on framing and door jambs, wiring and sprinkler installation, putting a fireproof coating on steel beams, and brick work on the east side of the building, which faces Mercer Street.

Bricks and mortar

County officials recently said they were disappointed to find out that the mortar they were shown on a sample brick display was not what would be on the courthouse building.

The architect failed to tell the commissioners that the lighter mortar would cost $20,000 more than standard mortar. The commissioners opted to save the extra expense and the extra work of removing the brick that has already been set on the eastern side of the building.

A similar confusion drove the commissioners to weigh their options for stone for the lower part of the courthouse exterior.

The stone first chosen by architect Silling & Associates would have cost significantly more than the contract had set aside for stone.

Even the commissioners second choice of stone will cost $7,000 more than initially expected, but county officials said they wanted the hand-selected stone because the courthouse will be the focal point of the downtown area for the next 100 years.

Commission President Brenda Hutchinson said she's not happy with the muddled communication with the architect Tom Potts, and will ask that he come to the commissioners personally if he needs them to make a decision about the courthouse design or construction.