Lee County officials OK repairs to courthouse annex

LEESBURG — As restoration work on the Lee County Courthouse comes to an end, leaders are now looking to the adjacent annex which needs structural repairs and a new paint job.

Last Tuesday, county commissioners voted to allocate funds to restore and paint the county courthouse annex.

The discussion to repair the annex came up during a budget meeting last month when County Co-Manager Mike Sistrunk said the annex had some structural damage that should be taken care of before adding a fresh coat of paint.

Before noticing the extent of the damage, county officials had sought bids just to repaint the annex.

Only one bid came in.

“We have 14 windows needing new sealer. There is some leakage. That building is 75 to 100 years old. Although those windows have been recaulked before, the caulking only lasts so long. With the new courthouse being done, it would be nice to beautify the annex as well,” Sistrunk said.

Some of the damage to the windows may have been caused by heavy rain and high winds, Sistrunk suggested.

“There are cracks in the building. Apparently the building shifted during the tornadoes or due to high winds. I have pictures. As I looked closer, I saw some things that I didn’t know existed. There are some real concerns about the condition of the brick and mortar,” Sistrunk said.

Sistrunk said it would cost about $30,000 to paint the annex and about $70,000 would be needed to paint and repair the building.

“I can’t find where any work has been done to the building in the past 20 years. It would be a shame to have a beautiful new courthouse next door and then people come into the annex and see the paint peeling off the walls,” Sistrunk said.

Dennis Roland, chair of the Board of Commissioners, suggested looking into energy-efficient windows as an option to help extend the life of the windows.

Co-Manager Christi Dockery said funds for restoration work were available through the county’s 2017 SPLOST fund reserves.

“We have $74,000 in additional revenue that could be used,” Dockery said.

“If we want to retain the building, we ought to do it right,” said Commissioner Rick Muggridge.

The county managers agreed.

“If the mortar has separated from the windows, it would make no sense to just paint over it because the gaps would still be there,” Sistrunk said.

Commissioners approved the $70,000 expenditure.

“The cost for painting and restorations will be $70,296.20,” Dockery said. “The work will include pressure washing, masonry work, sealant for the windows, painting.”

Bill Walters, project manager for the main courthouse renovations, agreed that restoring the annex before painting it was the wisest decision.

“You can’t just throw a coat of paint on it for aesthetic reasons and hope that the building doesn’t continue to deteriorate. From a preservation standpoint if you just paint the building without doing the repairs you would have to do it again within three to five years.

“I like to see money well spent and if they want their money to be well spent I would agree that the repairs in addition to the painting would mean their money would be well spent.”

Walters was in town last Tuesday to oversee the final work on the main courthouse.

“All that is left now is the roof. We had to wait until the rain stopped because we couldn’t open up the top until it was dry,” he said at the time.

Last week, a small work crew remained busy pulling up shingles and repairing damage near the center of the building.

Walters said the work should be complete before Independence Day.

File Photo