ASHLAND — Ashland County commissioners on Thursday approved the fourth and fifth change orders to an HVAC project that has proved to be more difficult — and thus more expensive — than anticipated.
Akron-based S.A. Comunale began work on installing the county courthouse’s new HVAC system in May 2021. The original bid called for a $690,543 project.
Commissioners approved an additional $11,677 for extra electrical work and another $28,560 for refrigerant piping.
In total, the project is $147,444 over budget.
Commissioner Denny Bittle acknowledged the project is over budget.
“There have been some big change orders,” he said, after being questioned by Ashland County Auditor Cindy Funk, who attended the meeting to address the board on an unrelated matter. “It’s been way bigger than anticipated.”
There are several reasons for that, according to Dennis Harris, the county’s maintenance superintendent and risk manager.
“It’s been a unique project,” Harris said. “And I don’t think it would have mattered who the contractor would have been.”
He said the 1928 building was “built really well.”
There have been several locations in the building where contractors originally thought parts of the HVAC system could be installed. Those spots ended up having to be moved because of structural integrity issues and plumbing.
“So that took extra work and extra mindsets,” Harris said.
Another hurdle has been the amount of time it has taken to drill holes in marble and red brick. Harris said the installers needed to drill more than 200 holes, some as deep as 18 to 24 inches.
“It was something. There were nights were a guy would drill, and he would only get one or two (holes) done in an eight-hour period,” he said.
Harris said the project should have been finished by now. But construction during a pandemic proved to be difficult, too.
“Everything got pushed back,” he said.
Nevertheless, he said contractors have said they could start testing and setting up lines in the next two to three weeks. Hopefully that means the project can be wrapped up in about a month, Harris said.
The Neoclassical courthouse, designed and built by architect Vernon Redding, sits on the site of the original 1853 courthouse.
The building features a stone facade, a flat roof and pilasters on the exterior with an elaborate, marble interior boasting a coffered ceiling and skylight.
