Quorum Court OKs clerk’s office renovation

Quorum Court OKs clerk’s office renovation

County commits to muchneeded updates

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Crittenden County Quorum Court gave the okay to go ahead and spend $26,000 on renovations to the county clerk’s office.

Justice Ronnie Sturch said they received two bids for the project — one from Roeder Construction for $22,600 and another for $23,400 from Petra Construction, and recommended the county hire Roeder.

The building committee actually broke the project in to two separate jobs — one to renovate the main front office, and the second project to do the front office plus the file room and clerk’s personal office.

Sturch said although Petra’s bid was actually about $800 cheaper, they did not bid on both parts of the job.

The committee added in the cost of what they did not bid on however, to get a comparison to Roeder’s bid.

“Petra did not include the electricals, baseboards, and the lighting,” Sturch said.

“They did not include any of that in their bid. Their bid was probably $500 to $1,000 less, but they left a lot out. The committee felt that it was best to do both projects together and that we award the contract to one contractor.”

The county had planned to go ahead and renovate the space in the county office building first so they could move the public defender’s office there in order to save paying rent, but the project still has some remaining questions to work out. The county had budgeted $78,000 for that project.

Sturch said they plan to remove all of the old, dated wall paneling in the clerk’s office, put in drywall, paint, and but in new ceiling tile.

Brown has also asked for a new counter and a door to be added to restrict access to her office.

“She said it has just become a thoroughfare into her personal office,” Sturch said. “Anyone who walks in there now just walks right back there to her office. So for security purposes she has asked we build a new counter and then to the right as you walk in there will be another door installed there that will be lockable and will create more security for the clerk’s office.”

Justice Lorenzo Parker said he will be glad to see the paneling go.

“The sixties are over,” Parker joked. Judge Woody Wheeless agreed, noting that they took the paneling down when they remodeled his office.

“We’re trying to remodel the courthouse,” Wheeless said. “Taking that paneling down makes a big difference. It looks so much better to see it gone. It is worth every penny.”

Sturch asked for an extra $2,500 for the flooring, which was not covered in the bids.

“We’re going to need a little bit more because there was no floor coverings in either bid,” Sturch said.

“The money is already appropriated though — more than enough, So we don’t need an additional appropriation. I’m just asking for your blessings on this so we can start.”

“I think it is needed,” Parker said. “That is one of the most visited offices in the courthouse. I’m glad to see it happen.”

By Mark Randall