Lawrence County Courthouse complex boiler replacement to cost $388K

DEADWOOD Witnessing a variety of evident problems and also a few that could eventually become evident, Lawrence County Commissioners voted to replace the three boilers that provide heat and hot water to the Lawrence County Courthouse Complex at a cost of $387,742.

Commissioners were presented three options and associated costs by engineer John Hey at the regular meeting of the Lawrence County Commission Tuesday. Hey said he wasn't sure about the county's long-term master plan and what that entailed, so he provided three options.

Option one was total boiler replacement, along with system updates to allow for future expansion in order to back up the jail services, which run on their own separate boiler and generator system, to include a new generator capable of handling more capacity, at a cost of more than $750,000.

Option two, existing courthouse basement boiler replacement only at a cost of nearly $390,000, was the one selected by the commission and option three was to simply patch the existing courthouse basement boilers with their corresponding cast iron sections that are leaking.

The courthouse basement boilers are approximately 25 years old.

"Owing to their age, maintenance is becoming problematic and parts are difficult to come by," said Lawrence County Deputy State's Attorney Bruce Outka.

"With option one, I don't know that there's a reason to go quite that far and I don't know that option three makes any sense either," said Lawrence County Commissioner Brandon Flanagan."

"Option one is $367,000 more than option two," said Lawrence County Commission Chairman Terry Weisenberg. "Will we see energy savings, no matter which option? How much is the gas bill?"

The gas bill for the Lawrence County Courthouse complex is roughly $10,000 per month or $100,000 per year.

The boiler replacement is needed. If one of the boilers goes down, the complex will not have heat. The courthouse boilers also supply the jail with hot water.

Link:
Lawrence County Courthouse complex boiler replacement to cost $388K