Sprinkler system being designed for courthouse

UNION Design work on a courthouse sprinkler system that will largely be financed through a state grant is now under way in Monroe County.

County commissioners unanimously approved signing a contract with The Thrasher Group during a Wednesday meeting. The $16,000 agreement calls for Thrasher to draw up the plans for the project, oversee the bidding process, provide site visits by architects and perform at least two inspections one to check the contractors work for substantial completion and then a final inspection when all work is done.

Thrasher representative Bob Hazelwood advised the commission the plans should be ready within a matter of days. Affiliated with Pentree Inc., a consulting engineering firm that is part of The Thrasher Group, Hazelwood has worked with the county on other projects.

The sprinkler system will serve all three floors of the circa 1881 courthouse in Union, according to County Clerk Donald Evans, who is responsible for the countys grant applications.

The bulk of the project will be paid for through a $100,000 Courthouse Facilities Improvement Authority grant from the state, with another $20,000 in matching funds coming from local coffers.

In other business:

- On behalf of the countys Solid Waste Authority, Bill Shiflet appealed to the commission to contribute $10,000 toward the construction of a new building to house the SWAs recycling operations.

He said the agency hopes to be able to expand the recycling program and include the school system in the effort to cut back on the amount of paper now being disposed in the landfill. He said that would help reduce the schools trash expenses, while also helping the environment.

- The commission received word that its 2014-15 budget has received conditional approval from the state.

At just over $2.8 million, next years budget is only around $50,000 more than the current years, Evans said, noting the new budget includes 2 percent across-the-board pay raises for county employees.

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Sprinkler system being designed for courthouse