Go ahead given to finish first floor painting

Tammy Helm/Tribune photo County Commission Chair Barbara Albright, left, Third District Commission Harold Coleman and Register of Deeds and HPA member Lora Holdridge look at the details in the ceiling and trim on the second floor lobby of the courthouse.

Members of the Historic Preservation Association of Bourbon County were given permission Tuesday to proceed with painting the first floor of the courthouse lobby.

HPA President Rhonda Dunn and members Lora Holdridge and Shane Walker met with commissioners to report on work that has already been completed and what remains to be done.

The hope is to have the entire first floor lobby repainted prior to the HPA's Homes for the Holidays Tour, which is set for Dec. 4-6. The courthouse is part of the tour.

HPA has agreed to pay up to $1,500 to repaint the first floor lobby. Inmates from the Southeast Kansas Regional Correctional Center provided the labor for painting the walls, but HPA members said a professional contractor has agreed to repaint the more detailed areas, such as the ceiling (with the exception of the panels or light fixtures) and cornices.

The estimate for the detailed work is $1,810. Dunn said HPA has not spent all of the money allotted for the painting, but she did not have an estimate of how much can be applied to the detail work, as the bills have not been tallied and more work needs to be done on the walls.

Walker said placing inmates on scaffolding to complete the work "is pretty irresponsible."

"The paint's gone a lot further than we thought it would," Walker said.

"We've been able to do one coat, so we're spending less than we thought we would," Dunn said. "We're willing to apply any surplus from the HPA to this balance."

She said because the entire $1,500 has not been spent, the county will not have to pay the entire $1,810 for the detail work. She said the contractor is willing to bill the county in 2016.

The vote to proceed with the project was not unanimous. Commission Chair Barbara Albright voted no, while First District Commissioner Lynne Oharah voted in favor of Third District Commissioner Harold Coleman's motion to pay the balance of the detail work.