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WHEELING -- A $12 million project to replace the heating and air conditioning systems at the City-County Building in Wheeling is expected to now take longer to complete -- perhaps as long as three years.
Construction was to start this month, but County Administrator Randy Russell on Thursday said work is going "very slowly" as needed parts may not arrive for at least two years.
The project had been expected to take 18 months but could now take more than three years, he said.
Plans call for individual offices in the building to be relocated to the former law library on the fourth floor as work takes place in their section of the building. The relocations will be delayed for the time being.
"We have found out that the lead time for some equipment has been extended out two years," Russell noted. "We have ordered the equipment, but it will take time to get here.
"We don't want to tear up the courthouse until we know we will get the equipment. ... We don't want to disrupt anybody until we know the equipment is here."
Needed electrical panels are "definitely out for two years," he said.
"And those are a definite component of the new system," Russell said. "We are currently awaiting AEP. They are running a new electrical service transformer. The new service will be more reliable, and outages at the courthouse will be less likely."
For now, workers are doing what preparation work they can and taking care of immediate issues, Russell indicated.
To start, some items from within the courthouse are being moved into two large storage containers located in the employee parking lot, he said.
"And if you look at the front of the courthouse at top toward the left … there's a crack in the masonry," Russell continued. "We need to go up and repair it.
"There was roofing planned to be done. We can do that."
There are also ancillary projects, such as the installation of pipes and chaseways, that can be completed before any equipment arrives, according to Russell.
"We're not sitting on our hands. We're moving forward - just a little more slowly than anticipated," he said.
Despite the high heat of the last few days, Russell said it is cool for the time being in the building.
"The AC and heat still work. But the system is so old that at any point In time it could stop working, and then it would be very warm in the building. But right now, it is working," he said.
An ordinance approved in October by Ohio County commissioners allows the county to borrow most of the money needed for the HVAC replacement project - or the first $10 million - through non-taxable Series A bonds, with any other money needed to be obtained through taxable Series B bonds. The total amount borrowed cannot exceed $12 million, the ordinance states.
The project involves replacing the existing boiler system and the chiller system on the roof of the City-County Building and replacing them with a water source heat pump system. The heat pumps will be placed in ceilings throughout the building, with each office having its own zoned heating and heat controls.
Cattrell Companies of Toronto is the general contractor for the project.