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Logan County Board
September Building and Grounds Committee meeting
[September 16, 2026]
The Building and Grounds Committee of the larger Logan County Board
held their monthly meeting on September 14th in the first-floor
courtroom of the Logan County Courthouse at 5:30 p.m. Three members
were present of the five on the committee, including new Chairman
Jim Wessbecher, Dale Nelson, and Lance Conahan. Vice Chairman Hannah
Fitzpatrick and Gil Turner were absent.
Four old business items were discussed. Wessbecher started by asking
if any bids had been submitted for the roof work that is needed on
the Logan Building. Conahan shared that one had come in, but that it
came in higher than they were expecting at $154,850. He said that
other companies wanted him to get on the roof and take photos to
send to them, but that he did not do that.
Nelson gave an update on Latham Park, stating that the new equipment
had been installed. He said that a voucher for the cost of the
installation of the equipment would be ready by the time the
Workshop meeting is held on Thursday.
Wessbecher asked Bill Walter with MRTS to then speak on the third
item, a proposal by B&B Electric to put dome lights on the
courthouse. B&B’s proposal came in at over $73,000. Walter shared
that he had been talking with Cosby Electric and that they were
going to submit a proposal as well. Walter suggested the committee
hold off on doing anything with that item until after they had at
least one more proposal to choose from.
A discussion over the budget was the last item on the agenda under
old business. Conahan shared that he finished working on next year’s
budget and shared some of the details. The courthouse restoration
project should have about $750,000 going into next year. This led to
a discussion between the committee and Heart IT’s two
representatives, Sheila Fiepel and Kerry Loveless, over some things
that they recommended the committee replace soon.
Then came new business items. Wessbecher let Walter give an update
on the courthouse restoration. Walter started with the exterior
elevator. A specific piece was replaced, and the elevator has been
working well. Walter then brought up the fee TK Elevator must pay
the county. In short, TK agreed to pay a $1,000 per day fine over
the agreed timeframe for working on the exterior elevator. The
county put this in the contract to get TK to stick to their original
timeline. With the elevator down for maintenance, the county would
be in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Walter
stated they were 41 days over, but a representative from TK told him
that number was only 3. Walter said he would be working with TK to
try to get to a number both parties could agree to.
Walter continued his update. The tile restoration on the third floor
will begin on September 21st. They had a meeting with the staff of
the third floor beforehand and plan to have a meeting with the other
two floors before they start working there.
An America 250th celebration in Latham Park was next on the agenda.
Wessbecher shared some details about the event, saying that it is
being planned for September 27th from 3 - 5 p.m. Additionally, the
Illinois 33rd Volunteer Regiment Band and an Abraham Lincoln
impersonator would be in attendance.
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Last month, the Building and Grounds Committee began discussing
an expansion to the pickleball court at Scully Park due to its
popularity. This month, they had a quote from the company Core
Sports Revolution for a second court in the amount of $13,394.
This second court would be slightly smaller than the first court
since it would not need the extra space to convert it into an
ice-skating rink in the winter. The concrete and additional
lights for the court were discussed here as well. All were sent
on to the Workshop meeting. Conahan informed the committee and
all in attendance that this project would be paid for with funds
from the Community Benefit Fund.
The next few agenda items were information from Fiepel and
Loveless about IT technology that, according to the pair, the
county is going to want to update soon. A lengthy discussion
followed, with Loveless speaking on the importance of some of
the items in relation to their ability to increase the county’s
“security posture.” Many of the improvements they were
suggesting would be to help accommodate future tech upgrades and
keep them on a schedule.
The Viper Mine Grant was next. Conahan talked to the City of
Lincoln about who their grant writer is. He shared that the
Logan County Animal Control building has a leaky roof and needs
work done on their sewer line. Should the county get some money
from the grant, Conahan suggested it be used to help offset the
cost of this work.
The committee had a brief discussion about two quotes that were
made by B&B Electric on lights at the Logan Building before
Wessbecher moved on to converting the Scully Park pickleball
court to an ice rink this winter. Fitzpatrick was tasked with
reaching out to Lincoln Community High School about getting help
to set the ice rink up.
The final item on the agenda was a use of grounds request from
the City of Lincoln. They were requesting use of Latham Park for
their annual Trick-or-Treat with the Mayor event. It is set to
be held on October 24th. The committee unanimously approved the
request.
A maintenance report from part-time facilities maintenance
worker Chris Neaville was last before adjournment. Neaville
asked the committee if he could use some of the dirt that would
be dug up for the pickleball court to fill some of the holes at
Latham Park. With no public comments, the meeting was adjourned.
[Matt Boutcher]
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