(Clarinda) -- Discussions continue over repairs slated for the Page County courthouse roof and clock tower.
At its regular meeting Tuesday afternoon, the Page County Board of Supervisors met with Farnsworth's Kelsey Vetter to discuss the proposed replacement of the courthouse roof and how the project would be bid out. The discussion follows the roof and north side of the clock tower sustaining hail damage last summer. Page County Auditor Kristin Wagoner says insurance is willing to cover most, if not all, of the costs, with the total project estimate ranging between $1.4 and $1.5 million. However, Vetter says the base cost estimate for the roof itself is just over $600,000.
"The courthouse roof, all the copper roofing, that would be the base bid and then we would have an add alternate, which would be to remove and re-clad the entirety of the clock tower, and then bring it back and put it back in place," said Vetter. "The intent is that a single contract would be put in place for this work to be done. So you'd have a single general contractor who would do both of these items. They could potentially hire a subcontractor to do the roofing and a subcontractor to do the clock tower work."
Vetter says the estimate from the original clock tower manufacturer came in just over $722,000 to re-clad the entire tower. She says the recommendation was to re-clad the entire tower rather than just the damaged portion due to the possibility that the work and joints might not line up correctly, as well as the tower's aesthetic.
"If you were only to replace or fix the north side, which has the most damage, it's very likely that any work done in that area would not match the rest of the clock tower," said Vetter. "Weathering and fading changes colors of metals and colors of everything over time. So there's concerns that it would be quite different."
Vetter says the original manufacturer indicated it could take anywhere from 26 to 34 weeks to re-clad the entire tower. But, due to the high price tag, Vetter says they are recommending having the clock tower as a bid alternate.
"They would come and take down the entire clock tower, ship it to Kentucky, re-clad it, bring it back, and put it back in place and that's a big chunk of change," Vetter explained. "I know there's some concerns from both Kristen (Wagoner) and Judy (Clark) about the dollar amount associated with that. So, the most recent conversations have been to list that as an alternate in the bid documents so that we can at least at a minimum get the roof replaced and see where we land with insurance as far as the clock tower portion is concerned."
Vetter says if the board ultimately chooses to re-clad the clock tower, the hope would be to have the tower back in place before Thanksgiving next year. Supervisors Chair Judy Clark notes that it would also be a significant logistical undertaking to remove, transport, and replace the clock tower.
"The courthouse itself is 67 feet high and the clock tower is also 67 feet tall--we have the two (sections) that are the same (height), which I learned when we put it all back together again," said Clark. "Trying to get scaffolding or anything else clear up there, it'd be a major issue."
Clark notes that, per the insurance company, they need to have the repairs completed and the dollars spent by the end of December 2026. The board is expected to discuss the topic again next week after further reviewing the initial drawings for the project. Vetter says the hope would be to put the project out for bid in January 2026. In other business Tuesday, the board approved obligating $30,126 in Opioid Settlement funds towards helping the Waubonsie Mental Health Center start up outpatient services for substance abuse disorder treatment, received its weekly update from MidAmerican Energy on the Shenandoah Hills Wind Project, and received an update from Samuels Group on the county jail project.