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Logan County Board
April Building and Grounds Committee Meeting
[April 15, 2026]
On Monday, April 13th, the
Building and Grounds Committee of the larger Logan County Board held
their monthly meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the first-floor courtroom of
the Logan County Courthouse. All five members of the committee were
present, including Committee Chairman Lance Conahan, Vice Chairman
Hannah Fitzpatrick, Gil Turner, Dale Nelson, and Jim Wessbecher.
The committee started by approving their previous month’s minutes,
then jumping right into their four agenda items for old business.
The first item was regarding the fountain at Scully Park. Conahan
stated that they are working on getting someone to work on the
fountain and get it ready for use, but the item was ultimately left
on old business for May.
The next item was a discussion over new wooden vertical slat blinds
that are going to be purchased and installed in the second-floor
courtroom. The quote was for $39,613.40 from a company called Blinds
Galore. The motion was moved to the Workshop meeting unanimously
after a roll call vote.
The third item was for a backup internet provider, with the
committee specifically looking into i3 Broadband. This is an issue
that the committee has been addressing for a while now, as their
current internet under Comcast sometimes goes out, leaving the
courthouse without any internet access for business. Due to some
work that still needs to be done to accommodate a second provider,
the item was left on old business.
The final item was for an IT server replacement. Keenan Leesman,
another board member who was present at this meeting, volunteered
his time to help the county write a request for proposal (RFP) to
get bidders for this service. There was some discussion over what
would occur if the company the county goes with is not compatible
with their current IT company Heart IT. Conahan stated that the
contract for Heart is up next year, and if the board feels the
server replacement can wait until then, he would be in favor of
replacing it in a new contract. It was decided to have a meeting
with Heart IT prior to next month’s committee meeting on this matter
before making any other decisions.
Conahan then moved the committee on to new business but moved things
around on the agenda. He started with the TK Elevator phone
approval. The alarm company the Sheriff’s office is working with to
get new alarms for the courthouse is going to put in an alarm for
the exterior elevator so they are all on the same system. This alarm
will be tied to the phone that will be installed on the elevator.
Conahan stated that he had not
heard back from American Scaffolding on the concrete damage that was
sustained from the construction around the scaffolding they
installed when the copper dome was being worked on. He said that the
damage was in the amount of $30,505. Additionally, Conahan stated
that part of the agreement from last month on the final payment
Logan County made to the company was that they would reach an
agreement on what American Scaffolding owed the county. There had
been no major updates to this item, and Conahan stated that it would
be kept on the agenda for next month unless something occurred
between this meeting and the Workshop meeting later in the week.
Next was a discussion over replacing lights in a war memorial case.
The proposal was from B&B Electric and was for $780. The committee
left this on the agenda to see if they could find a company that
could do the work cheaper.
The next agenda item was for a counter for the County Clerk and
Recorder’s Office. This counter would be for community members to
wait at when entering the office. A previously approved quote for
additional items did not include the counter. The committee moved
this motion on for full board approval.
Next was a proposal from Randall Von Liski for photos that could be
used on Logan County’s website. The company offered sixteen photos
for the website. Von Liski spoke to the committee, introducing
himself as a retired photographer. He went through the sixteen
photos one by one with the committee, showing photos from all over
the county. He stated that he has a catalogue of nearly 100 images
and is allowing the county to choose sixteen of them. He would also
allow the county to crop his images and add text, something that he
does not normally do. Von Liski stated that there would be no
additional fees in the future should the county decide to use his
images, but that he would retain copyright of them. The cost for a
license to these images would cost $999. A motion was made to pass
this item on to Workshop.
Bill Walter then gave an update on the courthouse restoration and
the TK Elevator renovation. He stated that they are working on
installing new doors for the other three entrances to the
courthouse. The work on the elevator is scheduled to begin on
Tuesday, April 14th. The company has 22 days to complete the work
per the contract.
The next item was a proposal from Davis-Hout Mechanical (DHM) to
install auto air vents in the heat pumps. This item was discussed
briefly, and there were no questions regarding it. Conahan did state
that DHM should be in this month to look over and do quarterly
maintenance for the geothermal system under the courthouse.
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A new roof for the
Logan Building was the next item. Conahan stated that they had
someone look at the roof and they informed him that it was
reaching the end of its life. This is an item that, according to
Conahan, was budgeted for.
Next were estimates for the removal of
a counter from the Treasurer's office. The county did reach out to
Hope on 5th to determine if they would like it but were informed
that they do not have a use for it. He stated that the counter would
need to get out this week, as work is being done on the floors next
week. The estimate was for $3,900 and was approved.
The next two items were proposals from Widmer Interiors, with the
first being for a cabinet near the metal detectors. These cabinets
would be for people to place belongings that would set the machine
off such as phones or keys. The cabinet would cost $2,300. The
proposal was approved.
The other Widmer proposal was for an “L” shaped desk for the
security area behind the glass where people come in. Conahan stated
that he hoped this would work a little better for security, as well
as look nicer for people coming into the courthouse. This would be
$7,730. This proposal was also approved.
After was a proposal from Jim Mulkins to paint the four vestibules
in the courthouse. His quote was $600 per vestibule. The county has
used his services for other parts of the courthouse in the past.
This proposal was accepted and moved on for a full board vote.
Last year, the county hired a company to trim some of the trees at
Scully and Latham parks. They were informed that some of the trees
at these parks are diseased. Conahan stated that they may want to
look into finding someone to cut down the diseased trees and plant
new ones. This was left on the agenda for old business in May.
Next was a proposal from Foster Construction to make some revisions
to the benches in the first-floor courtroom. It was stated that they
would like to see part of the bench placed on wheels that could be
moved around as needed. This would also provide space for four board
members to sit during meetings, with the rest sitting behind the
bench. Conahan stated that the plan would be to have their meetings
in the first-floor courtroom, but when their community attendance
exceeded the available space in that room, they would start moving
to the third-floor courtroom. He continued that the board would be
able to livestream their meetings. The goal would eventually be to
get every board member a microphone and have a camera. The cost of
the rolling bench would be $25,147.08, and a motion was made to pass
it. The motion was passed to the Workshop meeting.
The final item under new business was regarding the county light
resolution to change the color of the lights on the courthouse.
Conahan stated that they were quoted at a little over $855 from B&B
Electric to have the lights programmed for all county junior highs
to recognize them for sporting events. The proposal was passed on to
the Workshop meeting.
Finally, the committee moved on to three use ground requests. The
city of Lincoln wanted to place signs for 3rd Fridays, one at each
corner, for the duration of the summer, about three months. Conahan
stated he is not a fan of having things placed in the lawn and that
he would be in favor of having the signs up for the week of the
event only. Conahan stated that he felt this way due to the 100th
anniversary of Route 66 and the likely increased tourism and
photography of the courthouse. Nelson mirrored this sentiment. The
motion was passed to Workshop with the condition of it only being
the week of the 3rd Friday event.
The second use of grounds request was for a National Day of Prayer
in the Courthouse Rotunda. This would be on May 7th. A motion was
made and it was passed.
The final use of grounds request was for a data center protest on
April 20th. A discussion was held on whether the organizers of the
protest would need to have liability insurance, like most other use
of grounds request events do. A woman present on behalf of the event
organizers stated that their protest would not leave any permanent
damage to any property. A motion was then made to go into executive
session on the matter.
After the executive session, it was determined that they did not
need to fill out a use of grounds request for the protest to happen.
After this determination was made, the meeting was adjourned.
[Matt Boutcher]
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