Greene courthouse bell tower set for repairs
Greene courthouse bell tower set for repairs
{child_byline}Mike Jones{/child_byline}
WAYNESBURG – Work will begin soon to restore the Greene County Courthouse’s bell tower that was damaged by water.
The county commissioners approved a contract during their Thursday morning meeting to pay $246,800 to Jesse L. Fiske Sr., LLC, to make the various repairs to the columns and pillars atop the courthouse.
Earlier this year, county workers found minor damage to the bell tower and an exterior wall at the Fort Jackson Hotel county office building across the street. An engineer was hired in March to inspect the damage and make recommendations on how to repair the buildings.
County Chief Clerk Jeff Marshall said work on the courthouse will begin in the next few weeks.
He told the commissioners in March water penetrated a portion of the square base above the courthouse roof, rotting the wood.
Marshall did not know how or when the damage occurred, but speculated it happened before 2012.
Crews already have performed “stopgap” work on the Fort Jackson building, with permanent repairs expected later this year, Marshall said. Crews found bowing around the façade of the building and chiseled away brick to install boards as temporary repairs.
Marshall said permanent repairs to the Fort Jackson building include removing more bricks around the affected windows and tying the façade into the steel structure.