By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The work on the Reno County Courthouse continues.
According to an email from Harlan Depew with the county, the window restoration was a planned capital improvement item which has been in the planning stages for a number of years. The windows in the courthouse are original to the building from 1930. The inclusion of the building on the National Historic Registry required the county to restore these windows rather than replacing them. Currently about half of the 212 windows either have been restored or are in the process, as the contractor works from the bottom of the building to the top.
While they are up there, the exterior weatherization planned maintenance is taking place. This consists of replacing mortar joints that are deteriorating, repairing or replacing any broken brick or stone, cleaning the brick and stone, caulking where appropriate, and applying a water repellant product to the surface.
Two other projects are also being worked on as a result of damage caused by the earthquakes in 2019 and early 2020.
The earthquake in August of 2019 caused significant damage to the upper portion of the dome. The movement from the earthquake was such that it caused the steel truss system at the top of the dome to flex momentarily, while the stone veneer on the exterior was unable to flex. This movement caused stones to shift, blowing out mortar joints around the higher areas of the dome.
The corrective action being taken is to remove the stones from the dome area, reinforce the steel truss system, install a water proof membrane over the truss system, and then reset the stones. The goal is to repair the damage that was caused by the earthquake and to stiffen the structure enough to be able to withstand future seismic activity should it occur.
The August 2019 earthquake also caused cracking in the plaster on interior walls on every floor of the building. These walls are being repaired, textured to match surrounding areas, and painted.
The repairs related to the earthquake are covered by insurance, after a $25,000 deductible.
All of the scopes have been designed with approval from the Kansas State Historical Society, and the State Historic Preservation Office, under the protocols set forth in the Preservations Briefs published by the National Parks Service. Meeting these requirements has allowed the county to qualify for a reimbursement in the form of State Income Tax Credits equal to 40% of the actual costs incurred by the county. The county does not pay income tax, but these credits can and will be sold to businesses or individuals thru a competitive bidding process once the projects have been completed and the credits are issued.
The work on the exterior of the dome is scheduled to begin in earnest before Memorial Day and should take two or three months to complete. Once that is done, the exterior weatherization will proceed working from the top of the building to the bottom.
The contractor has committed to completing all four scopes of work by January 2022.
Pishny Restoration Services from Lenexa was awarded the four projects for $3,089,740 last October.
The project is still on track for meeting the completion target.