Grants for County Upgrades Reviewed

Kirk Powers and Shawna Hodge Meet with Commissioners

Various levels of grant funding for upgrades to Prowers County holdings were discussed with Colorado Main Street Architect, Tim Stroh, during the March 24 commissioner’s meeting.  The commissioners are seeking funding to help pay for improvements to the Prowers County Courthouse, Fairgrounds, Annex and WPA buildings on East Maple Street.

A DoLA sponsored administration grant requires 50-50 matching funds up to $50,000 for engineering fees.  Stroh said one of the benefits to this is that there’s no deadline on this kind of ‘rolling’ grant.  “You would be better off seeking four separate grants for each project instead of putting them together in one larger request,” he suggested, during the telephone conference meeting.  Another source, called Tier 1 and Tier 2 grants, offer funding up to $200,000 and above, depending on the type of project.

Prowers County Courthouse

Some projects would upgrade the fairgrounds, providing much needed shower facilities for visiting rodeo events.  Some thought has been given to extending the current restrooms at the Home Ec building into Elmer’s Garden as water lines are already in place.  Although that location would lower costs, there aren’t any specific plans that have been mentioned.  Renovated sidewalks on the north side of the courthouse are also in the works as well as the east side parking lot used mostly by courthouse employees.

The commissioners asked if History Colorado grants could be used for rehabilitation to a building without altering its historic integrity.  “If it’s for a sidewalk alone,” Stroh answered, “it’s not a very competitive grant, but if that becomes part of a larger project, it would be a better fit for your funding needs.”  An under-funded grant for the courthouse, under the Department of Justice, is also one avenue that is acceptable, if partnered with other grants.  Stroh said the application window is March 1^st, “So that gives you some time to prepare for a sizeable request next year.”

Fractured Sidewalk at Courthouse

One repair project will be on-going for the next several weeks.  Kirk Powers, Building Operations Supervisor, met with the commissioners regarding the need for a replacement boiler for the courthouse.  One of fourteen sections of the boiler is cracked and the commissioners and Powers decided to replace the aged system instead of the failed section.  The courthouse has been using the stand-by unit, installed in 1965, for the time being.  “Each of the 14 sections weighs 400lbs,” Powers explained, “The entire unit is five by 12 by five feet and the project will take about 8 weeks.”  He added that because of the age of the ventilation conduits, an upgraded system would not work.  “We’re going to have to install a new unit within the operating conditions of the old model.  If we get too efficient, we’re going to see condensation begin to form at some of the ventilation points throughout the building.”

By Russ Baldwin