HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Reno County Commissioners put the brakes on doing more structural work on the courthouse until they get more answers on a $700,000 change order put before them during Tuesday's meeting.
The contractor and engineers are requesting that the county spend the extra funds to replace anchors to the stone fascia at the bottom of the dome that have corroded over the years.
“The engineers and architects are concerned that if we have more earthquakes that could cause a collapse of the stones,” County Administrator Randy Partington said. “They have recommended a $700,000 thousand anchoring change order. We’ve talked with the architect and engineer, and they're recommending that we do something.”
In the end, the commission decided they wanted more answers as to how the stonework would be anchored and how much if any insurance would be willing to pay, which at the moment appears to be a sticking point. Commissioner Ron Sellers voiced his objections to the change order.
“Personally I think we need to get Pishny (the contractor on the project) done with what we’ve given them to do and I don’t see this as an emergency,” Sellers said. “We ought to look long and hard before we spend any additional money on this at this point in time.”
An engineering group WJE , which specializes in engineering in earthquake-prone California, was brought in to look over the stonework and said that the building held up well from two four-plus magnitude earthquakes and stated that the additional anchors would not be necessary. Partington said they have asked engineers if the stones can be tied directly to the concrete base being installed at the base of the dome which would save the county considerably. The commissioners were in consensus that if that solution works, they would readdress the change order then.
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