Commissioners to help save historic courthouse

EPHRATA - When Tom Gaines began his facilities and maintenance manager position at the county courthouse a year ago, he found cracks in the building, an inefficient heating and cooling system, an archaic electrical system in the jail that needed maintenance and no way to pay for fixes.

During this week's county commission meeting, Gaines may be one step closer to restoring what he calls "a truly beautiful building."

Commissioners agreed to pay McKinstry, a performance-based energy efficiency contractor, about $61,000, to diagnose the problems and apply for state grants to fix them.

If approved for a state historic grant, the money would be used to offset the county's matching portion. If they don't get the grant, the funds would be reimbursed by guaranteed savings in energy efficiency, McKinstry spokesman Jayson Schmidt told commissioners.

Commissioners were rushing to get McKinstry on board, as they have until June 30 to apply for a state historic grant that could bring millions in state funds to the county.

Consultants have already been inspecting the courthouse's heating and cooling and electrical systems and said the county should save about $34,000 per year if upgrades are made.

One of the problems is the heating and cooling system in the historic courthouse annex that was built in 1955. The two-pipe system allows either heat or air conditioning at a time, not both. So maintenance staff turn on the air conditioning in May and turn the heat on in October.

The system often blasts employees that have their desk near the vent while not doing much of anything to employees who have work spaces on the other side of the room.

This has forced staff to install more than a dozen window units, which are costly, inefficient and take away form the historic-nature of the courthouse, Gaines said.

Another problem is more apparent to courthouse visitors.

Large cracks in the courthouse's front steps and on the side of the building are unsightly and need to be fixed, Gaines said.

He noted that McKinstry is also working to make similar repairs to Douglas and Chelan county courthouses.

Another inefficient system most courthouse employees are not aware of is the intricate and complex electrical system in the jail.

"When this was built it was a state of the art, top of the line system," Gaines said about the 30-year old system. "But now it is out-dated, we have difficulties getting parts or finding people who know how to work on it," he said.

During Memorial Day weekend, he had to pay an employee vacation pay to come to the third floor of the jail and flip switches and turn knobs so the system would not fail.

There are hand-written notes from previous maintenance staff taped to the unit about how to trouble-shoot problems, and when a small part like a heating element breaks, he has to replace an entire large system, because manufacturers don't make a heating element for this 30-year system, he said.

Commissioner Richard Stevens said that he liked McKinstry's presentation and the professionalism they have showed during the process.

"This could be a win-win for us. If we get the grant then this is money we would already have to spend. If we don't get the grant then we have a report detailing how to save $34,000 a year," he said.

The energy-audit will also include architectural drawings, which nobody on the courthouse maintenance staff has, Gaines said.

Schmidt said that if courthouse maintenance staff can find original architectural drawings the $61,000 price tag would be reduced significantly.

McKinstry will also help the county apply for a state commerce department grant, which could bring $500,000 to the county in state funds to improve energy efficiency.