By TONY GUERRERO
Hays Post
The Ellis County Commission continued discussions on future major improvement projects and those costs during its Wednesday meeting.
John Herman and Jason Gillig from Hutton presented preliminary project scopes and budget estimates for the following, which the county lacks sufficient funds to complete in full:
• Sheriff's office and communications department renovation, estimated cost of $2,486,097
• Combined EMS/fire facility in Ellis, estimated cost of $3,511,122
• Administrative Building fan coil units replacement, estimated cost of $2,609,524
• Courthouse HVAC replacement, estimated at $4,079,863
• Fire storage building at public works, estimated at $711,873
• Landfill transfer station expansion, estimated at $1,089,755
The total estimated cost is $14,488,254, which Commissioner Michael Berges said was higher than he initially thought.
"We want to do these projects without necessarily raising taxes; we want to do it with the reserves, sales tax and other bonds. The $14 to 15 million might breach that intent, but again, this is just a starting point," Berges said.
Gillig provided an overview of several county projects.
The Sheriff’s Office and communications renovation will include reconfigured offices, additional security, a new dispatch room, and a shared training and break area.
The new EMS and fire facility will span about 11,500 square feet and can be expanded by an additional 3,000 square feet to accommodate two more vehicle bays. The building will feature bunk rooms and a training area.
Plans for the County Public Works storage building include space that could later be converted into a classroom. The transfer station will undergo a rework of its floors and chutes to improve operations.
Joe Glassman, president/CEO of Glassman Corp., spoke with the commission about problems with the courthouse’s Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) heating and cooling system, which was installed in 2014.
"The system has been problematic since day one," Glassman said. "If it's zero degrees or below outside, it can't keep up because the heat pump is undersized and because it's going into a defrost cycle too often."
Glassman said the county will need to decide whether to continue investing in the current system, now halfway through its 20-year lifespan, or replace it with a water-to-air heat-pump system expected to last up to 40 years. He added that both options are similar in cost.
Commissioner Neal Younger asked how long the water-to-air heat pump systems Glassman helped install have lasted. Glassman replied that one he installed in Kinsley has been running for about 16 years without any breakdowns.
The commission's agenda for Wednesday included a proposal to use bond financing to help fund the projects, spreading costs over several years to ease budget impacts. Although not discussed during the meeting, the plan outlines repayment through sales tax revenue and reserves, with the first payment scheduled for 2027.