photo by: August Rudisell

The Douglas County Courthouse is pictured in this contributed photo from June 2020.

County leaders have voted to pursue a repair project for the historic Douglas County Courthouse that includes work to stop significant amounts of water from getting into the basement.

As part of its meeting Wednesday, the Douglas County Commission voted unanimously to authorize county staff to begin the process to select a professional design firm for a project to waterproof the courthouse’s limestone basement and potentially make other masonry repairs.

Director of Capital Projects Jay Zimmerschied told the commission that it was important to note that the project was part of a preservation plan for the entire building that was started in 2006. Zimmerschied said the plan is being accomplished in phases, and that after review, it was determined that the basement work should be prioritized.

“Obviously a building’s foundation is critical to its survival,” Zimmerschied said. “The building sits on it, and so making sure that those are well maintained and protected and taken care of is appropriate.”

In addition, Zimmerschied said it was important to stop the water that is coming into the building to improve conditions for staff who work on that level. Zimmerschied said when the courthouse was built, there was no waterproofing done, and that the walls of the basement were simply made of limestone and mortar and covered with a plaster mix.

“These buildings are basically incredibly porous, and that’s what we’re trying to stop,” he said.

Zimmerschied said the county was seeking a design consultant because there are multiple components to the project, which will in turn affect future preservation work on the building. He said the project would involve deconstructing the two stairways on the outside of the building, digging down around the building to do the waterproofing, then reconstructing the steps. In addition to the waterproofing process, he said the stones of the foundation would be tested and repaired as necessary and that a sump pump system would be installed.

The commission previously indicated that the foundation and masonry repairs were a priority during a discussion last month about the county’s long-term plans for all its facilities, and there was limited discussion ahead of the vote on Wednesday. Zimmerschied said all the entrances to the courthouse will be disrupted at some point during the project, and Commission Vice Chair Shannon Reid asked that consideration be given to making sure an ADA-accessible entrance is maintained at all times.

At this point, there is no up-to-date estimate for what the repair work will cost, but Zimmerschied said the design firm’s work would help establish the scope and cost of the project. He said the selection of a firm would be brought back to the County Commission before moving forward.