Window options limited for courthouse

McCOOK, Neb. - A light agenda greeted Red Willow County Commissioners Monday at their regularly scheduled meeting. Most of the agenda dealt with items that were tabled in the previous regular meeting.

Commissioners voted to formally drop the application for a historic preservation grant for improving the windows of the courthouse. Commissioner Randy Dean reported that a proposal for removing the existing windows, sending them to Lincoln to be refurbished, and then re-installing them in the courthouse was risky. The architect told Dean that the procedure was experimental, and he didn’t know if it would actually help eliminate drafts. While the refurbishing was taking place, the window openings would be boarded up. A ballpark figure for the project was $750,000. This procedure is currently being undertaken for the windows at the State Capitol.

Because the Red Willow County Courthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the county can’t use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to replace the windows with new ones. Any federal funds used on a registered building require that the historical preservation be maintained.

Red Willow County Clerk Tami Teel told commissioner-elect Ted Gans, who attended Monday’s meeting, that the blinds on the inside of the building move when the wind blows. Commissioners will look at other options, including replacing the storm windows currently in place and re-painting the frames.

Commissioners also approved transferring a 2006 New Holland Skid Steer from the Household Hazardous Waste Department to District 3, another item that was tabled at the previous week’s meeting.

Under the consent agenda, commissioners approved accounts payable claims of $9,074.90, most of which were self-insurance claims.