The Howard County Commission recently approved the expenditure of roughly $582,000 of the county’s $1.2 million remaining ARPA funds for infrastructure improvements to the courthouse, the jail, and the Keller Building.

Improvements include new HVAC registers for the courthouse, along with foundation, cold water loop, and boiler replacements at the Keller Building. 

The county will keep its boiler system in the courthouse but is replacing around 70 receiver units throughout the building at a cost of $344,847. The new units will hold the same aesthetic as the old units—probably installed sometime after fire damaged much of the building’s interior in December 1975—and will be installed by Vaughan Heating and Cooling.

Howard County Presiding Commissioner Jerimiah Johnmeyer said keeping the old boiler system is more cost-effective than running ductwork through the historic building. The new registers will have better filtration and are expected to be more efficient.

The Keller building is a former hospital and has a metal I-beam structure under the concrete floors, which are anchored into concrete piers. Those I-beams suffered water damage, and the floor is settling. The worst settling has occurred under the wing housing the county health department.

The county abated what was considered an excessive amount of water in the crawl space around the beams with half a dozen pumps, which have backup batteries. Now, the damaged beams must be replaced at an estimated cost of a little more than $100,000.

The county received $1.9 million from the federal government’s American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). Also known as the COVID-19 Stimulus Package, it was a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021.

Other repairs and improvements from the county’s ARPA funds are being made to the Howard County Jail, including the installation of a new roof and skylights, as well as a new generator. 

New sidewalks and a new roof were recently installed at the courthouse.

After all work is completed, the county will have about $600,000 of the ARPA money left. All recipients of ARPA funds must have the money allocated by the end of 2024 and spent by the end of 2026. The commission hopes to replace flooring in the courthouse and renovate the second-floor courtroom.

Johnmeyer said the problem the county has faced is finding people to perform the needed work. “We would put bids out, and nobody would show up,” he said.

The courthouse was built in 1886 and is in constant need of repairs and maintenance. The ARPA funds were a godsend for the county, which barely has enough revenue to operate, much less make infrastructure repairs to aging buildings.

“This ARPA money has made all of this possible,” Johnmeyer said. “We’re trying to get the big items tackled with ARPA funding. And hopefully, the little items along the way we can handle with our infrastructure budget.”