Replacing the windows in the Marion County Courthouse will cost just over $400,000, but Marion County Sheriff Kevin Cripps says the project is essential.
The lone bid for the work came from Garner Glass of Taylorville. The county board this week tabled the bid after Building Committee Chair Dr. Creighton Engel said there was no money in this year’s budget to complete the project.
Sheriff Cripps warned the board they need to deal with the issue as water is pouring in the windows during rainstorms.
“It is like somebody running the water faucet through multiple windows throughout our courthouse. I think 1972 is when they were last replaced,” Cripps said. “It’s a lot of money, but the board needs to make preparations. If not this year, then in the long term… This is a project that is going to cost way more than that amount if it is not addressed in the near future… Yes, we continue to temporarily patch it, but that building is going to have to have some attention somewhere along the line, otherwise our historical building is going to deteriorate very quickly.”
Cripps says the biggest problem is with the west facing windows that get hit by most of the rain.
Dr. Engel says they have several options to deal with the project. He wants to look for energy savings grants since the new windows will be more energy efficient. Engel says the project could also be phased over a few years.
The project is one of several improvements still needed after the county spent nearly $8 million in federal COVID relief money on improvements at the courthouse, public service building and law enforcement center.
