ASHLAND — Two major projects at the Ashland County courthouse and the jail are expected to wrap up by the end of February, said Dennis Harris, the county’s maintenance supervisor.
Harris’ projection came during an Ashland County commissioners meeting Thursday.
Contractors have worked on the county courthouse’s new heating, venting and air condition system since last May, a project that was bid originally at $690,543.
The construction project has grown more expensive as workers discovered difficulties in drilling into the 1928 buildings marble and red brick — swelling the total to nearly $840,000.
Delays in parts and personnel shortages because of the pandemic have been blamed on the extended timeframe, but Harris is confident the work can be complete by the middle of February.
“They still have to pressurize all the lines, then they do their calculations and then they’ll charge the system and then all the testing they gotta do,” Harris said, adding he would give them until about the end of February to account for other unexpected delays.
Harris does not expect any additional change orders. (The county commissioners have already authorized five that have amounted to $147,444.)
“Right now, I don’t see any other change orders. Everything is there that we need. All the line sets are pretty much all, 99 percent, run. All the thermostats and controls are all there. I can’t imagine any other change orders that come up now,” Harris said.
Once the HVAC project wraps up, though, Harris said his crew of four will likely take the summer months to paint and touch things up throughout the courthouse.
And commissioners have already begun the process behind finding contractors that will be hired to replace old windows throughout the courthouse, said commissioner Denny Bittle.
The $1.4 million intercom project at the jail is expected to be finished by the end of February, Harris said.
The maintenance supervisor said BCU Electric, the hired contractor for the project, still has around 100 intercoms to install. Schneider Electric will be working this week, Harris said, to install programming for the new system, which is projected to last around four weeks.
Delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic have caused shipping delays for parts.
“All in all, it’s gone well. It’s been a very difficult project,” Harris said.
