The Butler County Courthouse is getting a “facelift” according to county commissioners. Crews are in the process of installing new windows and upgrading the historic building with central air thanks to funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.
“Just giving a little bit of a facelift, trying to make our county proud of our properties by doing the windows and HVAC,” said Commissioner Vince Lampe. “The windows we have now are just in terrible shape. They won’t open and shut. I think just in the utilities, it’s going to be a huge savings.”
The new windows and exterior doors are made of tinted Low-E glass, which reflects heat.
“We’re putting the central heat and air on the first and second floor, and then (in) all the hallways. We’ve never had that. And we’re getting rid of those window air conditioners,” Lampe said.
After the renovations, he added, the exterior will be professionally cleaned.
The current Butler County Courthouse was completed in 1933. In previous years its roof has been replaced and the interior lighting switched to LED. Beyond that, the Lampe described most of the work done as patching rather than fixing. For example, the downstairs windows are “half boarded-up,” he said. Now, the windows and the transoms above them will be properly restored.
Fellow commissioner Don Anderson added “It’s like owning a home. You know you’d have to maintain it and repair it... Thank goodness we have the money.”
ARPA is footing the roughly $1.2 million bill for the work — costs break down to about $500,000 for the windows and $700,000 for central air installation. It also funded improvements at the Butler County Justice Center across the street from the courthouse.
“If you’ve got less than $10 million, the federal government said we could use it for our own facilities,” said Lampe.
Work is expected to be done by mid-November.