ASHLAND — Ashland County commissioners are hoping an independent study of the courthouse’s brand new — and expensive — heating, venting and air condition system will reveal exactly why it hasn’t worked properly since its installation in 2022.
The commissioners voted unanimously in favor of hiring CMTA Inc. on Feb. 23. For $12,000, the firm will, according to its contract with the county, visit the courthouse to study the system and its “issues that have occurred over the past year.”
Commissioner Jim Justice said the warranty on the new system expires in April.
“So we want to see that we’re 100% good with the system,” he said.
The new system cost $690,543, according to the initial April 2021 contract with S.A. Comunale. It proved tricky to install, with a number of change orders totaling $147,444 in the ensuing months.
Commissioner Denny Bittle said the system has never worked properly.
“This is just in case things get a little hairy with us, because we’re not real happy with the system. (The study) is just a backup to see if there are any other issues that’s being caused,” Bittle said.
Dennis Harris has said the 1928 building’s marble interior posed a unique challenge to installers. The units housing had to be moved several times because of structural integrity issues and plumbing, Harris said.
Drilling through the marble was tough, too, he said. 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 where a guy would drill and he would only get one or two (holes) done in an eight-hour period,” he said in January 2022, when commissioners approved of additional change orders for the project.
Accounting for the CMTA study and five change orders, the county has spent $849,987 on the project that, according to Justice, was supposed to be done by March 2022.
Ashland County Auditor Cindy Funk said the units compressors weren’t working during a cold-snap in December, forcing courthouse staff to use the building’s backup heat, the boilers.
“I don’t even know if the A/C works. We haven’t had it working in June, July or August. We used window units for A/C. But today we have heat coming out of it, so woohoo,” she said.
In addition to studying the system and its issues, the firm agreed to prepare a report after its investigation that outlines issues and its recommendations for fixes.
