The Pulaski County Commissioners will meet in special session today to discuss repairs needed at the courthouse.
Maintenance Director Jeff Johnston told the commissioners in April that he has an extensive presentation to detail renovations and upgrades at the courthouse. He said issues remain that can no longer be ignored and plans need to be put into place now to make these repairs. Structural concerns and infrastructure needs are part of Johnston’s focus.
The new heating and cooling units for the Pulaski County Justice Center are being installed this week.
Maintenance Director Jeff Johnston told the commissioners Monday night that McGrath Refrigeration started installing the HVAC units on Monday. The weather has cooperated and the process should be complete by the end of the week.
During this process, the inmates need to be moved to different cells in order for crews to work in the different pods. Johnston said his staff can perform routine maintenance at the same time while the pods are empty. He said they are able to work on any water issues or other problems while the area is open.
The long-awaited repairs at the Pulaski County Justice Center are nearly complete.
Maintenance Director Jeff Johnston told the commissioners this week that the water softeners and the water heaters are installed, and all of the old units have been hauled away. Johnston said the HVAC systems should arrive this week or next week. He will coordinate with offices in the justice center for that equipment to be properly installed. The new control system will be added after that, but Johnston said that could be a while yet.
Pulaski County Maintenance Director Jeff Johnston gave the commissioners an update on the equipment installation at the justice center. He said the water heater will be started up today and will run for the rest of the week before the old water heater is taken offline to be sure that everything works properly. The HVAC equipment is being ordered as well as the water softeners.
Johnston said the generator for the health department has been installed but there is a small problem that he is investigating.
The water heater installation at the Pulaski County Justice Center has been delayed, according to Maintenance Director Jeff Johnston.
“One of the delays was with a vendor where they ordered parts for their machinery. That kind of set us back a little bit. They now have the parts that they need. They have most of the water lines in place. This week they’re going to start up the one unit and take the old one off line. We’re going to run it for a while to make sure that we have confidence that it’s going to do the job. Then they’ll remove the old one altogether and start installing the second one,” said Johnston.
Work continues on the generator for the Pulaski County Health Department.
Pulaski County Maintenance Director Jeff Johnston told the county council this week that the electrician is working on obtaining a small transformer to change the voltage for the generator. A gas line also needs to be ran in order for the generator to be fully operational.
Pulaski County Maintenance Director Jeff Johnston brought the county council up to speed on the justice center equipment repairs and replacement.
He explained that the water heater replacement is already underway due to a directive from the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.
“Right now they’ve got one water heater doing the work of two and it’s on its last leg,” said Johnston. “They’re halfway through the installation process for the new system. The total cost for the water heaters is $65,790. That includes the system and all new piping. As we were taking the insulation off the large copper pipes up there, there were leaks and cracks throughout.”
Repairs needed to the Pulaski County Courthouse structure will be determined after the first of the year.
Maintenance Director Jeff Johnston brought up the issue after an assessment was received about masonry repairs at the courthouse last month. The limestone needs to be repaired around the perimeter of the courthouse as it has come apart. Mortar joints were found to be defective, eroded or missing. The stairs also need to be repaired.
The base quote given for repairs were just over $83,600.
The installation of equipment at the Pulaski County Jail is underway. Maintenance Director Jeff Johnston have the commissioners an update on the progress during last night’s meeting.
The metal work on the roof at the justice center is complete and a final walk through was conducted.
“The new water heaters are over halfway through the installation process,” said Johnston. “One of the water heater units is in place, but they haven’t fired it up yet. They won’t take the other one offline until they’re positive that it’s working correctly. On Nov. 10, I’m set to meet with the council to go over the sealed bids that you guys opened and made decisions on and get all of that worked out as far as the CAGIT goes.”
A generator will soon be installed for use by the Pulaski County Health Department.
The Pulaski County Council members approved an additional appropriation for the purchase in the amount of $3,500 in a prior meeting. It was advertised and approved again on Monday night.
Terri Hansen from the health department approached the council members on Monday where she reported that the generator still hasn’t been installed. The generator has been delivered but it’s in storage at the moment until it can be professionally installed. She expressed her frustration in the delay of the project.
Repairs to the Pulaski County Justice Center, to the Pulaski County Courthouse and to the county home barn have been completed.
Maintenance Director Jeff Johnston told the commissioners last night that just minor items need to be finished to complete the damage sustained in a hail storm over a year ago.
“They’ve got metal coping to do on the justice center but the courthouse roof has been repaired and the justice center roof has been replaced and sealed. The barn at the county home has been repainted. The damaged section in the back and the roof have been repainted and sealed. The damaged screens were also repaired,” explained Johnson.
The new generator for the Pulaski County Health Department was to be delivered this week.
Maintenance Director Jeff Johnston told the commissioners Monday night that it will be stored until a company can properly install it. The Pulaski County council members approved the money for the generator at their meeting last week.
The commissioners previously approved the purchase of a similar self-starting generator for the county home in the amount of $3,500, but the council members did not bring the purchase request to a motion last week. Commissioner Terry Young expressed his frustration in that lack of action by the council.
The Pulaski County Commissioners approved funds for a continuous water heating system at the Pulaski County Justice Center.
Maintenance Director Jeff Johnston explained that he attempted to get quotes for an Emergency Water Heater Repair or replacement and for a continuous water heating system. Johnson said he got quotes for the equipment that is just like what the justice center has now, but found that the continuous water heating system is less expensive, more efficient and will better fit the needs at the jail.
The Pulaski County Council approved the purchase of a generator for the health department.
Terri Hansen had been asking for a generator for the department for several years. After working with county maintenance director Jeff Johnston, Hansen said they are ready to make the purchase.
“Jeff Johnston, I talked with him a couple of times and he said the generator that would run our office is about $2,900. I’m asking for an additional in equipment for $3,500 for the generator and for any cost for the hookup,” said Hansen.
Pulaski County Maintenance Director Jeff Johnston presented the county council members Monday night with several issues with the Justice Center.
Johnston explained the issues.
“The air units on the rooftop of the Justice Center are 17 years old and they have 15 year life spans. Four of them have already failed and the fifth one is failing now. We’re replaced four this year. We still have seven that are about to give it up. We’ve got three water heaters in the upstairs room, one of which failed its inspection from the state. We’ve replaced it but another one started leaking out of the bottom. Those machines are also past their life span by about seven years. We have two water softeners in that same room that are also leaking out of the top and they’re getting ready to go as well,” said Johnston.
The Pulaski County commissioners and the county council met in joint session last night where one of the topics was the future of the county home.
In previous meetings this year, Maintenance Director Jeff Johnston presented the county boards with a preliminary structural condition assessment of the county home conducted by American Structurepoint, Inc. The repairs needed are extensive and are estimated between $500,000 to $1 million. With that, the government entities are wondering what should be done.
The Pulaski County Commissioners gave the maintenance director permission to seek an additional appropriation from the county council to replace the aging equipment at the Pulaski County Justice Center.
Some of the equipment is already starting to fail, according to Jeff Johnston. He said he’d like to take care of the equipment while there is money yet in this year’s budget.
A recent building assessment of the Pleasant View Rest Home and the Pulaski County Courthouse has found some issues that need attention sooner rather than later.
Maintenance Director Jeff Johnston told the commissioners Monday night that some issues can wait but if other repairs go without attention, they could cost the county a lot more money.
The Pulaski County Commissioners took action to raise the amount of money allotted for the maintenance department in the case of an emergency situation.
Maintenance Director Jeff Johnston brought up the issue of emergency calls and the attempts to get a hold of commission members to approve a decision on how to move forward with the emergent issue at hand. The commissioners reiterated that Johnston has the authority to make the best, quickest and most cost-effective measures to take care of what needs to be done, but County Attorney Kevin Tankersley noted that some of the processes that have been done to seek commissioners’ approval of the emergent issue and money needed are not being handled in the best practice. He explained that any decision that requires immediate attention by the commissioners containing purchases over the minimum purchase requirement needs to be done in an a public emergency meeting.
Johnston told the commissioners that he is working on completing a number of maintenance projects, including some deficiencies that were found while repairing the air conditioning at the courthouse. The electrical work at the courthouse has also been completed, though they need to perform some follow-up tasks such as labeling the breaker box.
