county getting 1/4 million dollar loan

[pepelect]

    This is what is being proposed and sought...
the county is seeking a 300-400,000 dollar loan for the repair of the roof!

    What in the world are we doing?

   DO YOU WANT TO END UP PAYING A 9.75% TAX LIKE SEDAN?
it could happen!!!!!!!!
   
    GET INVOLVED please!

The last time the most expensive roof available was installed on the courthouse roof it lasted 103 years.  That is an opportunity cost of about $3883 per year.  Do you think that things will be cheaper in the future?  Fix it right once and never touch it again.  We spend more than that a month on diesel and it lasts about one week.

This really shouldn't come as a shock.  The commissioners have wasted money before why should now be any different?  

I would rather see a new roof on the courthouse than watch no fund warrants issued month after month for the subsistance of the failed nursing home that we finally got back on the tax rolls.  
I would like to be more like CQ.  They have new businesses moving in to town.  Old business being reopened and they are getting a new jail which will relieve the overcrowding at ours.  That means growth, change, and  innovation.  We don't seem to want that here...We only want cheap and temporary.  

[greatguns]

Cheaper to fix it right in the long run, but not as much fun as bitching.

[Diane Amberg]

Ain't that the truth!    It does sound like a lot of money but I assume the best roof for the building has been investigated already. How much is the cost per sq. ft. installed? Does that include complete removal of the old roof, repairs and vents, gutters and downspouts or whatever for water drainage etc. that would need to be done, total clean up and site restoration? If you don't fix it, it will just get worse and even more expensive. You could lose the whole building. Is it worth keeping? (OF COURSE)  I don't know what all the court house is used for now, but it would be a shame to lose it for want of a shoe....er, roof.

[W. Gray]

From the Prairie Star, September 10, 2008

SCKEDD Representative Michael West had some information on possible funding for the much needed repair of the Courthouse roof. County Clerk Donna Kaminska had contacted West to see if he knew of any possible funding for the repair. West said he would look into the matter and report at today's meeting. West gave an overview of options to obtain funding for the roof repair. Potential sources of funding were a Heritage Trust Fund grant through the Kansas State Historical Society and Kansas State Tax Credit for Historic Preservation. West said the first step would need to be getting the Courthouse on the State or National Historic Register, which would limit future exterior changes that would modify the appearance. The downside to being on the Register would be that the County would have to get approval before any changes could be made to the exterior. West said because of Elk County's size and economics, there aren't any funds available to make changes to the Courthouse, so he didn't see that as a problem. The Commissioners decided to include replacement of the Courthouse heating system in the grant application and asked West to proceed with the application process. West wanted someone from the County to accompany him to a meeting in Salina on October 6th that will discuss the application process for both the Heritage Fund and the Tax Credits. The Commissioners asked Bob Barrow or Byrdee Miller to attend the meeting for the County. The deadline for the HTF grant application is March 1, 2009.

There has probably been several reports in the newspaper since then as to why a loan is needed.

From: Kansas State Historical Society, Kansas Preservation, Spring, 2009:

Elk County Courthouse – 127 N Pine, Howard, Elk County
The Elk County Courthouse was built in 1907 to replace the
burned 19th century courthouse. The two-story building with
a large central clock tower and round-arch openings features
a blonde brick exterior with red-tinted mortar. It occupies a
full city block east of Howard's main business district.
Architect George McDonald of Kansas City designed the
courthouse to reflect popular turn-of-the-century styles
including Romanesque and Italian Renaissance. The building
follows much the same form as McDonald's other courthouse
designs such as those in Fillmore, Nebraska, and Butler,
Missouri. The Elk County Courthouse was built at a time
when the Romanesque style was giving way to various
Mediterranean Revival styles, such as Italian, Classical, and
Spanish, which incorporated smoother lines with symmetry
and simplicity. It was nominated as part of the Historic County
Courthouses of Kansas Multiple Property Submission for its
architecture and its association with local government.

For a $687,000 projected project which includes the roof see
http://dodgeprojects.construction.com/ITEM--Elk-County-Courthouse-Re-Roof---Interior-Repairs-Masonry---Concrete---Kansas_stcVVproductId102941230VVcatId547038VVviewprod.htm

[W. Gray]

The Aug 11 issue of Prairie Star reports that the county has received a loan from the Bank of Longton to re roof the courthouse. One of the Howard banks previously turned down the loan. There appears to also be a 360 Energy Grant that would, I believe, replace the heating system.

I don't think I was of a bank in Longton, but the First Neodesha Bank shows a Longton branch and another in Fall River.

That newspaper issue also says there will be a couple of low water crossings upgraded in relation to the Caney River Wind Project. A civil contractor will do the upgrading, which will be paid for by the wind project.

The routes to the project will be off K-99 through Howard and "straight west using Limestone to Road 9, then west on Killdeer two miles to project."  "There is also a northbound stretch on road 7 up two miles then west on Mule Road to Road 6."

There was also an emergency condition contingency set up which would allow the county to do repairs on those roads with reimbursement from a Trade Wind escrow account set up with Howard State Bank.

[MarkHall]

When I first saw this thread, I was scared to death we were going to end up with a tin roof on the court house.

It's a beautiful building, and worthy of preservation. Let's do it right, and do it to last.