DICKINSON COUNTY
NEWS-TIMES
That’s a wrap
Years in the making and $18 million later, the
Dickinson County Courthouse is renovated
By Kathy Hageman
Dickinson County Public
Information coordinator
Nearly a decade after the com-
mitment was made to build a new
jail and renovate the courthouse,
Dickinson County now has a
government building that is safe,
energy efficient, technologically
advanced and aesthetically pleas-
ing, without being opulent.
Except for a few remaining is-
sues — like replacing the eleva-
tor, which has been delayed time
and time again due to vendor is-
sues — the project is finished.
An open house on Saturday,
June 11, attracted about 100 peo-
ple who took the opportunity to
see the renovated courthouse.
An open house for the new jail
and sheriff’s department, held in
August 2021, allowed people the
opportunity to tour that facility
before prisoners were moved in.
Nearly everyone who attended
the two open houses said they
were impressed with the build-
ing and the changes that had been
made. However, the journey to
completion has not been simple.
The path included a failed bond
issue, a complete revamp of the
project, a second bond issue that
barely passed, surprise demoli-
tion obstacles, a pandemic, sup-
ply chain problems, workforce
issues and more.
But now that the end is nearly
here, it’s time to take a look back.
A rocky path to completion
Dire need
Soon after joining the Dickinson
County Commission in January
2013, Commissioner Craig Cham-
berlin said the county needed a
new jail. Both he and Commis-
sioner Lynn Peterson joined the
commission at the same time after
being elected in November 2012.
“Craig brought it up immedi-
ately during his first or second
meeting in office,” recalled Dick-
inson County Administrator Brad
Homman. “He said something
needs to be done about this build-
ing and the jail and we need to
start planning for that right now.”
Chamberlin, Peterson and
then-Commission Chairman La-
Verne Myers knew that building
a new jail would not be popular.
It had been brought up numerous
times with other county commis-
sions in the past and never gone
anywhere.
The jail was a disaster waiting to
happen. Not only had it outlived its
usefulness structurally and techno-
logically, but changes in the way
the criminal justice system houses
and cares for prisoners meant the
old jail was a major liability risk.
Not only that, the entire layout
of the top floor of the courthouse
– which housed the jail, district
court and court service offices
– was no longer safe in the 21st
century. With inmates and the
public using the same hallways
for access, public safety was a
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
major concern. That was true not
only in the court area, but in the
entire courthouse with the mod-
ern threats posed by active shoot-
ers and the like.
As for the courthouse, it also
was aging — and not graceful-
ly. While the building itself was
structurally sound, the infrastruc-
ture was failing. Constant repairs
and skyrocketing energy costs
had become a financial drain.
Jail and court concerns
When the courthouse was built
in 1956, public safety was not a
concern. In fact, the sheriff’s fam-
ily lived in an apartment inside
the jail area on the top floor, with
the sheriff’s wife cooking the
prisoners’ meals and their chil-
dren calling the place home.
But by the 2000s that way of
life was long gone and keeping
inmates isolated from judges, wit-
nesses, jurors and the general pub-
lic was considered imperative.
One of the biggest problems
in the courthouse was the lack
of public safety. The only way
to transport inmates was through
hallways used by the general
public, moving them from the jail
to the courtrooms. Inmates were
walking past potential jurors and
witnesses, sometimes intimidat-
ing them. It also created an op-
portunity for the inmate to run
and possibly hurt someone in the
process.
Kathy Hageman | Courtesy photo
At the time, one Abilene wom-
an said she felt victimized “over
and over again” as she waited
in the hallway for court to start
and the inmate who assaulted her
glared at her as guards brought
him to the courtroom.
The openness of the original
courthouse sometimes was dan-
gerous for judges and court offi-
cials. With only one way to get to
the courtroom, judges were forced
to walk through the crowds gath-
ered in the hallway, and depend-
ing on the case, the judge’s safety
could also be at risk.
There were incidents in oth-
er places — especially in high-
ly charged situations like child
in need of care cases — where
judges had been attacked by en-
raged family members and the
open hallways in the Dickinson
County courthouse presented a
perfect opportunity for a similar
situation.
But today with the new jail and
renovation, steps were taken to
solve those problems.
The new jail addition created
a separate hallway, staircase and
elevator to move prisoners, keep-
ing them out of the public venue.
It also created a place for judges
to move from their chambers to
the courtroom without walking
through the public area and added
other necessary spaces.
The new addition also houses
the sheriff’s department in an area
with adequate space, evidence
CHAPMAN
ENTERPRISE
HERINGTON
AND SURROUNDING
COMMUNITIES
storage, interrogation rooms and
all the things a law enforcement
office needs in the 21st Century.
Inmate safety
While public safety was a ma-
jor concern, so too was the safety
of inmates. The 1956 jail did not
meet Americans with Disabili-
ties Act or Prison Rape Elimina-
tion Act requirements. Nor did it
comply with the building codes
and standards set by the Amer-
ican Correctional Association,
the National Institute of Correc-
tions and the National Institute
of Justice.
Back in October 2016, archi-
tect Larry Goldberg of Goldberg
Group Architects, who designed
the new facility and renovations,
noted the jail was a “disaster
waiting to happen,” especially in
terms of PREA.
“The problem is the concept of
deliberate indifference,” Gold-
berg said. “You know what’s
wrong. You know it’s non-com-
pliant. You know it can’t be fixed.
You know the opportunity for in-
advertent or intentional violations
of personal privacy give way to a
sexual assaultive environment.”
Besides that, the 1956 jail had
deteriorated to the point where cell
doors were broken, some could
not be locked and replacement
parts were no longer available.
See PATH P. 8
Courtesy photo
Page 2 Dickinson County News-Times Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Pandemic impacts county jail, renovation

Worker shortages, supply chain issues,
other situations increase expense
By Kathy Hageman costs and this was all pre-

Dickinson County Public
Information coordinator
Today, the new jail addi-
tion and renovated court-
house is a source of pride
for many in Dickinson
County, but it was a project
that had more than its share
of twists and turns.
Dickinson County Ad-
ministrator Brad Homman
sums up the situation:
“If you would have told
me that we were going to
have to do two elections
(after a protest petition
against it was filed), design
the project twice to scale it
down for the second design,
be hit with a world-wide
pandemic as we started the
project that shut down soci-
ety as we know it — result-
ing in a shortage of skilled
workers to do the work,
then the government would
infuse tons of money into
our economy which result-
Before
COVID. After COVID,
all the rules went out the
window.
“He told us you’re go-
ing to have trouble finding
professional and skilled la-
borers, brick masons, elec-
tricians, plumbers, concrete
finishers,” Homman con-
tinued. “That was absolute
fact and truer than we ever
imagined it would be.”
When the bids came in
for phase 1 and phase 2,
they were too high.
“I reached out to several
contractors who said they
could bid phase 1 very
competitively because they
were going to order mate-
rials as soon as the papers
were signed,” Homman
said. “But we were also
asking them to bid phase 2,
which wasn’t even going to
start until after the jail was Brad Homman | Courtesy photo
done.
“They said, ‘you’re ask-
ing us to bid something

ed in contractors that were
scheduled to work on our
project going elsewhere for
more money, and that every
time we dug a hole for the
foundation we would hit
a new surprise — water,
tanks, or something similar
we did not know about.
“Then we would get hit
with price increases and
inflation like we have nev-
er experienced before,
and then experience sup-
ply chain issues where we
couldn’t get simple things
like doors and openers, I
would have told you that
you were crazy!”
What should have taken
16 to 18 months ended up
taking about two years.
“It wasn’t a huge amount
of time, but it was signifi-
cant,” Homman said.
Despite all the negatives,
the courthouse construc-
tion/renovation project had
silver linings. The county
received federal monies
from the American Rescue
Plan Act that were used to
pay for some additional
projects — like paving the
parking lot and upgrading
technology in the court-
rooms — that would not
have happened otherwise.
Also, the county hopes
to receive tax credits for
working with state histo-
rians to maintain the his-
torical significance of the
1956-building. The sale of
those credits could poten-
tially bring in several hun-
dred thousand dollars to
help pay off the debt.
Bids too high
In the weeks and months
following the successful
2018 bond issue, Gold-
berg Group Architects staff
worked on plans for the new
jail and courthouse reno-
vation. About a year later
in July 2019, the county
commission met with Loyd
Builders, the construction
manager at risk, to review
the bids.
“Exactly what (Architect)
Larry Goldberg told us was
going to happen happened,”
Homman said. He said
every year you wait you’re
going to see a 4 to 6%
increase on construction
construction-wise which
is months down the road
when we have no idea what
the costs are going to be’,”
Homman said.
So, the decision was
made to rebid phase 1 and
then wait until the jail por-
tion was nearing comple-
tion and bid phase 2.
“We got our phase 1
bids more competitively,
but by the time phase 2
came around, the pandemic
forced costs to go through
the roof,” Homman said.
A ground-breaking cer-
emony was held on Thurs-
day, Aug. 1, 2019, involv-
ing representatives from
the county, Goldberg Group
Architects, Loyd Builders
and others. A few days later
fencing was installed to cre-
ate a construction perimeter
and soon after, work began.
Historic district
One of the first chal-
lenges — which may turn
out to be a blessing in dis-
guise — occurred because
the courthouse is located in
the Abilene historic district.
Thus, any changes to the
existing structure had to be
reviewed by the state’s his-
torical preservation office.
“The building is not on
the historic register, but it’s
a contributor to the histori-
cal district,” Homman said.
“We met with two staff
members from the SHPO
(State Historic Preservation
Office) who wanted to see
the building. They told us
to do your best to maintain
the look of the courthouse.
They didn’t want us to re-
place the windows, because
the windows of the 1956-
era were unique.”
However, since achiev-
ing energy efficiency and
lowering utility bills was a
major goal of the renova-
tion, leaving in the original
windows was not an option.
They had lost any insulating
value they once had years
ago. The seals had dried out
and anytime the wind blew,
the shades moved, bringing
hot or cold air directly into
the building.
“We planned to use some
of the money we saved in
energy efficiency to help
TOP: The area where district court was
BOTTOM: The new County Attorney’s office
pay for the renovation,”
Homman said.
As a compromise, sever-
al original windows on the
east end of what was the
sheriff’s department were
left in the wall, although
they are hidden underneath
sheet rock. Also hidden on
the outside are the window
frames of the original build-
ing. They are still there, but
covered by a material that
looks like limestone.
“If someone wants to
take the new windows out
and buy windows that look
like those in the 1950s they
could do it,” Homman said.
Other 1956-era windows
remain in the hallways,
although they too are not
visible. Each office used to
have a window next to the
entry door, but those win-
dows were no longer safe in
a “secure courthouse” since
they could easily be shot
out during an active shooter
incident.
“If 100 years from now,
the county commission
wants to turn the court-
house back to the way it
was in 1956 they could do
that,” Homman said. “Out-
side, we did our best to
maintain the same physical
façade and look.”
After
By following the various
SHPO directives, the coun-
ty should be eligible to re-
ceive tax credits that could
be sold.
“There’s a grant pro-
gram to promote the his-
torical significance of
buildings in Kansas,”
Homman said. “They will
give you grants up to 25
percent of your invest-
ment in tax certificates.”
While the county does
not have to pay taxes, it
can still obtain tax credits
which can be sold to busi-
nesses and companies that
do. Theoretically, if the
county were to receive $1
million in tax credits, and
can sell the tax credits for
say, 85 cents on the dol-
lar, that means the county
could get paid $850,000
that could be used to help
pay off the bond.
Major obstacles
One of the first problems
occurred early on when the
vendor that was award-
ed the concrete bid called
the day before they were
scheduled to be on site and
said they were not coming.
That resulted in litigation
between the construction
manager at risk and the
Gail Parsons | DCNT photo
vendor; however, it was a
tough blow to the budget.
The contractor that bailed
was $60,000 cheaper on the
flat surface bid than the sec-
ond lowest bidder.
“We called the next low-
est bidder, and by then
COVID had hit and the first
round of CARES (Corona-
virus Aid, Relief and Eco-
nomic Security) money was
coming out to the schools
and it had a deadline,”
Homman said. “So that
vendor said we’ll be out
as soon as we can. Another
vendor we called was going
to be $200,000 higher and
they didn’t have anybody to
send.”
More extra costs were
incurred after underground
debris — from a long-buried
kerosene tank used to heat
the courthouse in the 1950s
— was found while exca-
vating and that debris had
to be dug up and removed.
Even though penetrating
radar had been used ahead
of time to scan the ground,
it was not discovered until
groundwork began.
Another issue occurred
as the walls for the jail ad-
dition were being built.
“If you’ve got an exist-
ing building and you’re
digging right next to the
wall, you risk the under-
layment coming out and
the wall caving in,” Hom-
man said. “The ground
wasn’t strong enough to
hold the pressure of those
walls so they had to put
in more of them and had
to go down deeper. They
drilled piers down to the
bedrock, then poured piers
with columns full of steel
and concrete.
“They were afraid the
soil underground wasn’t
stable enough to hold it.
Then when we got down
to about 18-feet and water
started running in. We had
to find pumps and pump it
out. Then it would rain.”
In hindsight it would
have been easier to put a
basement under the new
addition, but that had been
cut to lower the amount of
the bond issue.
“It took forever to get
the project off the ground,”
Homman said. “Once we
got the flat stuff down it
was time for the masons to
come in and that company
could only send a couple
guys over at a time.”
See ISSUES P. 7

Congratulations,
Dickinson County.
WE’RE PROUD TO BE
YOUR PARTNER ON
THIS COMMUNITY
INVESTMENT. Gail Parsons | DCNT file photo
BUILDING BETTER The inside of one of the new jail cells,
photo taken during the open house
L o y d B u i l d s B e t t e r. c o m August 2021
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
Sub contractors
Site and Building Concrete
Stallbaumer Concrete, Manhattan
Masonry
Hartman Masonry LC, Council Grove
Structural & Misc. Steel
Ferco, Inc. (Install), Salina,
MDF Industries Inc. (Material),
Salina
Carpentry
Loyd Builders, Ottawa
Trinium Inc., Manhattan
Finish Carpentry and Architectural
Casework
Timberline Cabinetry and Millwork,
Manhattan
Cabinetry and Millwork Concepts,
Topeka
Joint Sealants & Waterproofing
Restoration and Waterproofing Con-
tractors, Inc., Topeka
EIFS
Romesburg Plastering, Inc., St Jo-
seph, Missouri
Roofing and Sheet Metal
Meridian Roofing Solutions, Topeka
Doors, Frames, Hardware
Negwer Door Systems, Claycomo,
Missouri 64119
Engineered Door Products, Wichita
Gypsum Assemblies and Acoustical
Panel Ceilings
Danny Satterfield Drywall, Wichita
Hi-Tech Interiors, Wichita
Specialty Doors
Stoner Door and Dock Corp., Topeka
Glass and Glazing
Interstate Glass, Junction City
Tiling
Capital Tile, Topeka
Country Carpet, Maple Hill
Resilient Flooring and Carpet
FDC Contract a John A. Marshall
Company,
North Kansas City
Country Carpet, Maple Hill
Sealed Concrete
Pro Concrete Design, Riverside,
Missouri
Trowel Applied Seamless Flooring
Pro Concrete Design, Riverside,
Missouri
Painting
Paintin’ the Town, Hope
Signage
Star Signs LLC, Lawrence
Toilet Compartments
Meyer Construction Specialties,
Belton, Missouri
Specialties
Meyer Construction Specialties,
Belton, Missouri
Fire Extinguishers
Meyer Construction Specialties,
Belton, Missouri
Lockers
Engineered Industrial Products,
High Ridge, Missouri
Detention Equipment & Electronic
Safety and Security
Pauly Jail Building Company, Inc.,
Noblesville, Indiana
Window Treatments
Abbey Simons Co., Kansas City,
Missouri
Pews
Davis Furniture Co., Black River
Falls, Wisconsin
Laundry Equipment
RJ Kool, North Kansas City, Missouri
Food Service Equipment
B&J Food Service Equipment, Kan-
sas City, Kansas
Conveying Equipment
Thyssenkrupp Elevator Corporation,
Wichita
Fire Suppression
Bamford Fire Sprinkler Co., Inc.,
Salina
Plumbing and HVAC
The Waldinger Corporation, Wichita
Electrical and Communications
Accurate Electric, Inc., Salina
Earthwork and 39 Site Utilities
Boyd Excavating, Inc., Abilene
Selective Demolition
Remco Demolition, LLC, Leaven-
worth
Asbestos Abatement
ACM Removal, Wichita
Landscaping
Proscape Inc., Abilene
Dickinson County News-Times
One of the first projects of the renovation was asbestos abatement. This section of the basement was sealed off and the
suspected asbestos was cleaned out.
Navigating a changing environment
By Gail Parsons
DCNT News Editor
COVID-19, inflation, la- er seen anything like the environment we’re
bor and supply shortages, an currently trying to build these projects in”
ice storm, politics — it was
all wrapped up in the renova-
tion of the Dickinson County
Courthouse.
Lawrence Goldberg, pres-
ident and founding principal
of Goldberg Group Architects,
said there were many challeng-
es, some like he has never seen
in his 41 years in business,
but there were also several re-
wards with the project.
“Renovating a court-
house is always tricky,” he
said. “There's an old saying,
‘There's never enough time or
money to do it, right but there's
always enough time or money
to do it over.’ And the fact is, is
the more we got into the ren-
ovation and the more Lloyd
Builders actually took stuff
apart the more we found.”
As they moved through the
project they discovered col-
lapsed plumbing, old wiring
and panels that hadn't been
hooked up to anything in years.
“It was truly a labor of love to
renovate that courthouse,” he
said. “Most of the courthous-
es we've renovated have been
from the mid to late 1800s. It's
so rare to actually renovate a
mid-century-style courthouse,
which this absolutely epito-
mizes from the 1950s or early
60s And that was a lot of fun.”
Designing the building
Part of the fun was the chal-
lenge in working through ev-
erything that was thrown at
this project. One of the first
challenges was the politics of
the project. Goldberg started
working with county officials
about five years ago, shortly
before a the project was put on
the ballot. A small, but vocal,
group of citizens campaigned
heavily against it and when it
was put on the ballot, voters
turned it down. Changes were
made and the second time
around the initiative passed.
Adding jail to existing building
was a unique twist for builder
By Gail Parsons
DCNT News Editor
Loyd Builders, from Ottawa,
was the construction company
selected to take on the 104,444
square-foot renovation of the
Dickinson County Courthouse.
Loyd Builders has a 63-years
history in the state and have built
schools, hospitals, senior living,
justice centers, and more.
Vice-president of Operations
Randy Flowers said every
project brings its own unique
challenges and opportunities
but this one is memorable. It’s
exciting for them to see the
changes.
“It’s exciting to see the
county moving back (into the
building),” he said. “We’ve
seen what they're coming out
of it. We came in and made a
difference in the building. It's
gonna really be good for the
community for that for years
to come.”
He said the Dickinson Coun-
ty project was unique in the
way the jail was added to the
existing courthouse.
Page 3
Brad Homman | Courtesy photo
Adding to the challeng-
I’ve had my practice for 41 years ... I’ve nev- es were skyrocketing costs,
which came on the heels of
supply shortages.
As the price of oil goes up
Lawrence Goldberg, Goldberg Group Architects — so does the cost of nearly all
of the supplies needed, and not
just because of transportation.
“I attended meetings with blueprint for the building. “People don’t realize that
the City Council of Abilene Ground broke in August something like 30 to 35%
and that was very challenging 2019 but little did Gold- of your buildings today use
politically,” he said. “It wasberg know what was on the plastics,” he said. “What are
clear that some of what was horizon. Six months into it, plastics — they're petroleum
originally envisioned was go- COVID-19 hit and a slew of derivatives. So when you
ing to happen. We stopped and challenges followed. look at roof insulation, build-
changed direction, modified Goldberg said for this proj- ing insulation, laminates,
the plans and added substantial
ect and others he is working carpeting, floor sealer, paint,
time to the overall schedule. on, he is having to navigate in electrical parts, junction box-
But it's what happens when a marketplace and construc- es, PVC, plastic conduit —
you have complex institu- tion environment unlike any- You look at the totality of
tions like this, that represent
thing he has experienced or these materials they add up to
different factions or different
could have anticipated. like 30 to 35% of the overall
agencies or communities. So “I've had my practice for 41 construction costs. So when
anyhow, it all came out in theyears,” he said. “We have spe- the cost of oil skyrockets, so
wash and we're very pleased.” cialized in justice work all over does the cost of manufactur-
The original plan was for the country for 35, 36 years — ing these.”
more new construction and these things have always been Not all the supply-chain
less renovation. When the expensive and complex, but issues were a result of the
voters rejected that plan, he I've never seen anything like pandemic. Getting paint for
developed one that had more the environment we're current- the courthouse proved to be a
renovation and less new ly building and trying to build challenge because of the ice
construction, while stick- these projects in.” storm that hit Texas. Sher-
ing with the original goal of With cash flowing into the win Williams, which is the
creating a more efficient and states from the Federal gov- leading paint manufacturer,
safer facility. ernment for COVID-19 re- Goldberg said, has several of
In modern justice center de-
lief, new building projects their plants around Houston
sign, Goldberg said he wants soared — and often offered Texas.
to keep the three major circu-more money than the county When the ice storm hit they
lation groups separated. had earmarked. For example, lost power and was designated
“You've got your judges andGoldberg said, soon after start- a non-essential manufacturer,
your court service staff, you've
ing the work, the concrete con- which meant they were not a
got your prisoners and your tractor walked off the job high priority to get electricity
sheriff's department and then “He had another job up the restored. They fell behind by
finally you've got the public,”
road that was gonna make him millions of gallons of paint and
he said. “What you're trying to
more money and he literal- primer, he said.
do is keep them separate from ly left,” Goldberg said. “That “The painting contractor in
each other, so you're not walk-
delayed the project right there Dickinson County is a hero,”
ing prisoners down the corri- four to six weeks while we re- he said speaking of Jay Hull
dor by family members or by bid the concrete.” of Paintin’ the Town, out of
victims. We've got some really He’s having a similar issue Hope. “He sent guys all over
ugly history of that happeningwith the electric contract at the Midwest to pick up five
in the Dickinson courthouse asLinn County Justice Center. gallons here, two gallons there,
well as, as other old courthous- “We bid rebid that proj- 12 gallons there, 20 gallons
es that harken back to a time ect several times because we here, to try and come up with
when crime was a little differ-
couldn't beg, borrow or steal at enough paint to keep the paint-
ent at least in smaller Ameri-an electrical bid,” he said. “We ing process going.”
can communities.” weren't over budget or under Despite the setbacks, the
budget — we were no budget. monkey wrenches and the
Monkey wrenches We literally could not get an challenges, Goldberg said he is
With the politics aside, he electrical contractor to bid that pleased with the result of five
dove into creating the new project.” years of work and planning.
“What is now the inside of
the building used to be the ex-
terior of the courthouse,” he
said. “Everything is seamless
between the two buildings.”
The podular design for the
60-bed jail, state-of-the-art
technology and the private pas-
sageways for the inmates helps
with the security of the facility.
“Everything is centrally lo-
cated in the jail … the master
control room where just one
or two people can control not
only the locks but the lights Brad Homman | Courtesy photo
and the water,” Flowers said. The jail cells were put in place before the walls of the new
“It can be man it all with a lot jail were built around them.
less people than they would “There were some items they Whether it’s a school, a medical
have had to in the past.”
wanted to remain in place, facility or a justice center, he
There are also cameras ev- namely some old windows that said it’s always nice to drive by
erywhere, movement sensors didn’t suit itself to the exist- later and see the difference the
and access control points with
ing plan. They allowed us to project makes for a community.
doors that can only be opened frame around them but we had
with special key cards. “It was a great privilege to
to leave them available in case be able to work with Dickin-
“It is a secure building that someday they want to go back son County and County Ad-
for sure,” he said.
to that original look.” ministrator Brad Homman,”
While functionality and secu- Now that the project is com- he said. “We felt like we came
rity were paramount to the proj- pleted, Flowers can add the away from there having built a
ect, they also had to keep the
courthouse to a long list of great relationship with Dickin-
historical significance in mind. projects that he has worked on son County. It’s a building we
“We did work with the in his 29 years in the industry. are proud of.”
historical society,” he said.
Page 4
Local contractors take pride in role they played
By Gail Parsons
DCNT News Editor
About 40 subcontractors
worked on the renovation
of the Dickinson County
Courthouse and Jail proj-
ect. Three of those are
from Dickinson county
— each working at a dif-
ferent time, Boyd Exca-
vators was one of the first
subcontractors on the site;
Paintin’ the Town was in
the middle; and Proscape
finished it out.
They all expressed pride
in the work they and all the
subcontractors did do com-
plete a multi-million dollar
project despite setbacks,
many of which were caused
by the pandemic.
Boyd Excavator
R od Boyd and his son
Jeff Boyd, owners
of Boyd Excavacators in
Abilene, were one of the
first on the scene. They
had to finish their part be-
fore the jail, which was in
phase one of the project,
could be built.
“The new jail came
in where the old Belle
Springs Creamery was,”
Rod said.
Belle Springs Cream-
ery in Abilene was built in
1902. When it was demol-
ished in 1999 rather than
removing the foundation of
the four-story brick build-
ing remained underground.
“That took a lot of extra
money and a change order,”
Rod said. “The footings
were gigantic — there was
still wood below ground
where the new jail was go-
ing to set so we had to clear
all that out, probably to a
depth of eight foot.”
That was one of the
challenges of this project.
“Groundwater was right
there,” Jeff said. “We were
fighting water.”
With water came the
mud. When the water was
pumped out, they had to
pour cement just to pro-
vide a stable surface for
the workers.
“It’s quite challenging at
that depth,” Rod said.
Once they got started
the project took about
four months but the mem-
ories of the work will last
a lifetime.
“Every time I drive by, I
have a memory of what we
were doing in this phase,
or what we did here or
there,” Rod said. “There’s
a lot of memories to that.”
As the building neared
completion, the Boyds
returned to the site to dig
up the old parking lot
and demolish the former
county attorney’s build-
ing — two projects that
brought their own set of
challenges.
When they removed the
asphalt from the parking
lot, the group fell in.
“We actually had an un-
stable soil,” Jeff said. “It
2015
The architect and
builder are hired
Early 2013
— Commissioners
begin talk about the
needs at the court-
house and jail
first
meeting about pro-
posed law center is
held
Dickinson County News-Times Wednesday, July 13, 2022
Brad Homman | Courtesy photo
The northeast corner of the original courthouse had to
be dug out to put in the supports for the new jail. This
was part of the work Boyd Excavator, from Abilene, did.
had to be stabilized — we Larry Golberg, the ar-
had to dig out three-foot chitect for the courthouse,
of dirt, and bring back in said he was impressed
layers of rock.” with the dedication Hull
Had they not done that had and the work they did
the new parking lot would to ensure the right paint
have been destroyed with- was available. Adding
in a few years. to the difficulties, an ice
When they moved over storm in Texas shut down
to the attorney’s office the Sherwin Williams fac-
they discovered the base- tory for a couple of weeks,
ment walls had about which increased the paint
twice as much rebar as a shortage, he said.
typical building. “My guys drove all over
“It was very well built,” the state and into Missou-
Rod said. ri to get paint,” Hull said.
“You don’t just pull walls “We drove out for a whole
in when it’s got that much week and went around to
steel in it,” Jeff added. all the Sherwin Williams
The building was orig- stores in Kansas and Mis-
inally built as a bank, souri and picked up paint
which accounts for why and brought it back.”
the walls were so highly She stored the paint on
reinforced. pallets at the courthouse
until it came time for her
work to start. She wasn’t
Paintin’ the Town the only contractor affected
P aintin’ the Town is by the pandemic and sup-
a small company ply chain issues. When one
headquartered in a small contractor had problems it
town. trickled down to affect oth-
Gail Parsons | DCNT photo
Owner Denise Hull said ers. They all had to coor- Proscape Inc., from Abilene, came in at the end of the project and designed and
she intentionally does not dinate with each other and installed new landscaping to bring a clean modern look to the renovated building.
try to grow her business when the windows didn’t
in Hope because she likes come in or the doors didn’t does, Hull said she has a when they approach the courthouse,’” he said. “It
the one-on-one personal arrive when they expected, sense of pride when she building, said Michael D. was drab for years.”
attention she can provide other contractors had to sees how all the pieces Houlton, owner of Pros- The main challenge he
to her customers. She juggle their schedules. came together. cape Inc., in Abilene. had on the outside was
never advertises but stays “We had to hopscotch
around a little bit to finish “I am glad we were part The goal was to make one of the same ones con-
busy with word-of-mouth of it she said. “Everyone the outside look inviting. tractors on the inside were
clients. on schedule,” Hull said. did their part and did it well. To do so, he used plants dealing with — working
“We take a lot of pride “But this was not a night- that will provide a lot of around each other.
in our work,” she said. mare job like some are. color he said. He chose “The contractors
Evidence of that is seen The reason why is because Proscape Inc. an assortment of junipers, couldn’t get out of my
O
throughout the courthouse. Tom Shirak (with Loyd ne of the final piec- roses, grasses and shrubs way fast enough,” he said
But, a paint job as big as Builders) was the job su- es to the courthouse that will make it look good laughing.
this one, during a pandem- perintendent. He is a fan- renovation was the land- year round. Once they did get all
ic, had its challenges. tastic person — he is the scaping, which couldn’t “We redesigned it to the junk cleared out of the
As soon as she knew glue that held this thing be finished until most of make it look more modern yard Houlton and his crew
she had the job, her people together.” the other work was. — very good looking for were able to get in and put
started scouring Kansas for Like any of the large The landscaping is the people to come in and the final touches on the
the paint they would need. projects Paintin’ the Town first thing people see say, ‘Wow, this is my renovation.
March
— August 2022 — Staff
2019 — A begins moving
groundbreaking back into the
ceremony is courthouse and
held county offices
August 2017 August 2021
— First vote is held, — Jail is com-
which failed by 308 pleted and an open
votes house is held
March June
February 2017 2020 — pan- 2022 — At long
— Advisory com- demic shut downs last the final touches
mittee recommends start are done and every-
moving forward one moves back in.
2013
public August. 2018 February
— A second vote is 2021 — staff
held and the project is started moving
narrowly approved out of courthouse
into temporary
offices
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
Courts joins 21st century
New security measures
protect staff and public
By Gail Parsons
DCNT News Editor
The new courthouse was
configured with the safe-
ty and security of judicial
staff, members of the pub-
lic, and inmates in mind.
Prior to the renovation
people who were in cus-
tody to court had to leave
the jail, and walk down
the hallway in front of all
the witnesses, victims, and
family members.
“The fact that we hav-
en't had an incident or a
problem with doing that
is amazing,” said Judge
Benjamin Sexton. “It was
gonna happen. That was a
recipe for disaster.”
Now the inmates are
brought from the jail in a
secured elevator to a hold-
ing cell where they wait
until their case is heard.
They are then brought
down a private, secured
hallway to the courtroom.
“They are not paraded
in front of the victims,” he
said. “The witnesses aren't
there. They're not put in
danger coming down the
hallway because — you
have not only of danger to
the victims and witnesses,
you have danger to that in-
dividual. We have a duty
to that person being held
in custody as well.”
They can also bring up
several inmates at a time.
And the ceiling came
tumbling down
Ceiling material is piled up on the second floor of the courthouse where court ser-
vices used to be. Part of this area is now the county attorney’s office, part of it is Sexton said. “But they just
for attorney and client visitation and another part is restrooms.
The newly remodeled large courtroom has thicker walls than the old one to cut down on the noise from the nearby railroad tracks. It has also been outfitted with
state of the art technology, which the judges can operate from the bench.
They can wait in the hold-
ing cell until their case is
called, whereas before,
the jail staff would have
to escort one prisoner at a
time back and forth, said
Brad Homman, county
administrator.
Another improvement
for witnesses and victims is
a room where they can wait
until they are called to testi-
fy. Before, they had to sit in
the hallway with everyone
else,” said Cindy McDon-
ald, clerk of the court.
Now, there are rooms
where witnesses can stay
until they are brought into
the courtroom to testify.
“For the victims alone —
it's huge,” McDonald said.
“If you've been a victim of
a crime, the last thing you
want to do is have to sit
right next to some family
member of that defendant
and listen to conversations
going on in the hall. I think
for victims to be in that se-
cure room that they don't
have to be out among ev-
erybody else — it's a huge
impact.”
Some of the victims are
young children who al-
ready have anxiety just go-
ing through the courthouse
doors. Having a secure
place to wait can help alle-
viate some of that anxiety,
Sexton said.
That kind of situation
was high on the list of con-
Brad Homman | Courtesy photo eryone could see it.
Dickinson County News-Times
cerns when they sat down
with they began redesign-
ing the building, Homman
said. One of the goals was
to be able to take them into
the courtroom through a
secure setting where they
didn't have access to the
public. The large courtroom was gutted and rebuilt during the renovation. A private
“Let's say it's an inde- entrance for the judges was added as a security measure.
cent liberties case with
a child or an incest case
or a violent sexual as-
sault where somebody
Pandemic increased use of
did something to a child
or youth and you've got
that person there ready to
technology, which is here to stay
By Gail Parsons
testify and all of a sudden
here comes this monster DCNT News Editor
walking by you look at
Before COVID-19 there
you just winks,” Hom-
man said. “You probably was some hesitation among
be so afraid you wouldn't judges at the Eighth Judi-
testify. It takes a lot to get cial District Court to make
people to testify in a nor- use of available technology
mal case, let alone when in the courtroom.
you're eight or 10 years “We got into 2020 and
old.” the pandemic smacked us
The reconfiguration all in the face and every-
also increases security for thing shut down,” County
the judges and McDonald Administrator Brad Hom-
and her staff. Just like the man said. “Prior to that,
inmates, they too used the they did very few virtual
main hallway to get from meetings because the judg-
the clerk’s office to the es didn’t like it. I remember
courtroom. There were vividly Judge Sexton say-
times when irate people ing, ‘Before this pandemic
would stop them and start stuff, I would not give you
arguing with them. a plug nickel for a virtual
Now, they too have a hearing.’ Nobody liked it
private and secure passage and we weren’t gonna do it.
into the courtrooms and But we were forced to do it
can stay out of harm’s way, (because of COVID-19).”
he said. While everything else
was shutting down, crime
did not take a break during
the pandemic. County and
court personnel scrambled
to find a way to keep the
dockets moving. So, they
set up monitors hooked up
to Zoom at Sterl Hall, where
courtrooms were temporari-
ly set up when renovations
started in August 2019.
“You can only shut down
court for so long and you start
getting backlogged and keep-
ing people in jail without their
due process,” Homman said.
Judge Benjamin Sex-
ton, who has served on the
bench for 21 years, said
at first getting used to the
technology was difficult.
“The older you get — new
things aren’t fun,” he said. “I
thought (the new technology)
would make everyone lazy.
When COVID started and we
sent everyone home … the
clerks had to teach us how to
run the equipment and it was
difficult. But Zoom is here to
stay — it saves so much time
and it saves people money.”
Upgrades
Part of the judges’ ini-
tial reluctance may have
stemmed from the quali-
ty of technology they had
worked with. If an attorney
needed to show a video,
they had to pull in a cart
with a television on it and
move that around; a display
on a poster board would
have to be brought in and
set up and adjusted so ev-
“Those things worked,”
weren’t usually friendly.
Brad Homman | Courtesy photo
And our sound system was
not good.”
The high ceiling and type
of walls in the old courtroom
were also not conducive
to allowing sound to carry,
making it difficult for peo-
ple in the back of the room
to hear what was being said.
Homman said they all
realized that if Dickinson
County was to upgrade,
now was the time to do it.
Court Clerk Cindy Mc-
Donald told them about the
system used in the court in
Lyon County, which was
the example they followed.
It includes the installa-
tion of 100-inch televisions
situated so anyone in the
room can see them. There
are also three cameras at
the judge's bench, which
they can control.
“When you have 10 peo-
ple participating by zoom
and we had that little TV
on the cart stand, it’s hard
to see people’s expressions
and there’s sound prob-
lems,” McDonald said.
“Now we have these two
large TVs.”
When attorneys are hav-
ing private conversations
with the judges at the
bench, rather than making
the jurors leave the room,
the judge can turn on white
noise to prevent them from
hearing what is said.
With everything being
recorded, a jury can also
ask to see a portion of the
video during deliberations
and have that part of the
proceedings shown in the
jury room.
Limitations
As much as the judges
and staff have embraced
Zoom and technology, Sex-
ton and McDonald said
there are limitations.
“Please tell me we will
never do a jury trial by
Zoom,” McDonald said.
Sexton said there are
several factors that go into
a jury trial, which would
make it infeasible to do it
virtually.
“Body language is part
of it — my body language
as well,” he said. “It's im-
portant to see faces at jury
trials. We had one jury trial
over at Sterl Hall. Everyone
was wearing masks, which
was a big deal, you don't
want the jurors to have
masks because attorneys
can't see their faces. You
don't want the witnesses
to have masks because you
Brad Homman | Courtesy photo
Page 5
Join a zoom
courtroom
People can view court
cases on zoom but are re-
minded that once they en-
ter the zoom meting it is
equivalent to being in the
courtroom — they should
dress and behave with
that in mind. The judges
Zoom meeting IDs are:
District Judge Ben
Sexton: 646 694 5873
District Magistrate
Judge Neal Gugler: 784
867 2760
District Judge Ryan
Rosauer: 814 272 1056
want to be able to see their
faces — the defendant and
attorneys at the table, same
way. Jurors have … to read
the whole room — seeing
the faces, seeing body lan-
guage is part of it.”
Access to court
The technology will save
time and money. Rather
than paying travel fees for
people, such as interpreters
or witnesses, to show up in
Dickinson County, people
can appear by Zoom.
It also makes the justice
system more accessible to
the public.
“It’s a courtroom, it’s
just a digital courtroom
and everyone is welcome,”
Sexton said. “It’s important
that people have access to
the courts and Zoom has in-
creased our traffic tremen-
dously. People have anxi-
ety about having to come to
court — it’s easier for them
to get on Zoom.”
However, one point Sex-
ton wants people to know is
that a Zoom courtroom is
still a courtroom and they
are expected to appear with
the same demeanor as if it
was in person.
“You'll have people driv-
ing and you have to tell
them ‘no you can't drive.’”
Sexton said. “You'll have
people walking around,
they'll get on with hats or
no shirts, people will stand
up and they're still in their
underwear.”
While Sexton may have
been reluctant at first, he
said he appreciates the
work Homman, McDonald
and several others in the
county and court system
went through to bring the
courthouse up to date.
“Zoom hearings are now
a breeze,” he said.
Page 6 Dickinson County News-Times Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Preserving a piece of county history

By Gail Parsons
DCNT News Editor
The Dickinson Coun-
ty Courthouse, which
also houses the sheriff’s
department and coun-
ty offices is in Abilene’s
downtown historic dis-
trict. While it is not on
the registry itself it is list-
ed as a contributor to the
district.
Built in 1956, the court-
house was designed in the
Modern Movement In-
dustrial style, which was
popular at the time.
“If you look around at
county buildings that were
done at that time, a lot of
them look almost identi-
cal,” said County Admin-
istrator Brad Homman.
Because the building is
in the historic district the
renovation was eligible
for state tax credits, pro-
vided the historic integri-
ty was preserved.
“We always look at ev-
ery strategic way to fi-
nancially pay for things
to make the burden less
on the public,” Homman
said.
The state will give 25%
of the renovation cost to
the county in tax credits.
Because the county is al-
ready tax-exempt, they
can sell or auction off the
credits.
Maintaining
historic integrity
Early into the process
Homman met with the
staff at the State Histor-
ical Society and learned
what was considered his-
torically significant.
The windows were im-
portant; however, having
sidelight windows next to
doorways does not meet to-
day’s security requirements.
“In a worst-case scenar-
io, if you have an active
shooter, you close the
door all they have to do
is shoot the glass out and
walk through,” Homman
said. “If you’re wrestling
with someone, or they
just came out of court and
throw you over — you go
through a sheet of glass.”
Rather than taking the
sidelights out, they were
enclosed inside the walls.
The working theory
is that if anytime in the
future a new jail is built
elsewhere, the sidelights
can be exposed.
“They can take the wall
off and the original win-
dows are there, the orig-
inal glass is in the hall-
ways, and we’re going to
keep the original doors in
storage,” he said.
The state wanted the
outside windows to re-
main intact but Homman
said it was impractical to
do so.
“They’re not insulat-
ed,” he said. “The seals
on them were all shot.
They leaked more air than
having them.”
One of the reasons for
the renovation was to
make the building ener-
gy efficient. Knowing the
windows had to come out
the next thought was to
put them in storage.
“They didn’t come out
friendly,” he said. “They
were destroyed when they
came out but we took a
ton of pictures of them.
The ones that we put back
in look similar to the ones
that came out. We tried to
do what we could to retain
the same visual image of
the building yet meet our
insulation and efficiency
needs.”
In addition to the
windows, the doors were
pinpointed as having
significance to the historic
integrity of the building.
Many of the doors were
moved into storage while
a few others will remain
in the building. Original
restroom doors will
stay in place but were
bolted shut because they
are not compliant with
American Disabilities Act
requirements.
As they did with the
windows, they took pho-
tos of the original doors
before putting them in
storage. The photos will
take their place in the
history of the building,
which includes minutes
from the County Com-
mission minutes when the
courthouse was originally Dickinson County Historical Society | Courtesy photo
built. A 1950s view of the east side of the courthouse where the new jail was built
“The only big discussion
they had at the meeting
when they accepted that
bid, according to the
minutes, was, do they
put in an electric elevator
or hydraulic elevator?”
Homman said. “Hydraulic
elevators were kind of new
technology at that point.
They went with electric.
The new one we put in for
the jail is hydraulic but
the one in the courthouse
they purchased back then
is electric.”
The renovated court-
house keeps the electric
elevator cab but has new Brad Homman | Courtesy photo
cables, pulleys, motor, The cells are put in place during the building of the new jail. Once they were in
and electronics. place the walls were built around them.
$$ difference
One significant differ-
ence from when the orig-
inal courthouse was con-
structed 67 years ago is in
the cost.
In the 1950s when the
County Commissioners
signed off on the original
construction, the cost was
$800,000.
According to the Con-
sumer Price Index, adjust-
ed for inflation, $800,000
in 1957 would equal more
than $8 million today.
In today’s economy,
$800,000 wouldn’t get
far.
“We upgraded the park-
ing lot from asphalt con- Gail Parsons | DCNT photo
crete — it might have The new Dickinson County jail was completed in August 2021. Shortly before in-
covered the parking lot.” mates were moved in the county had an open house.

Gail Parsons | DCNT photo

Brad Homman | Courtesy photo
Besides preserving the historic integrity of the original courthouse, county officials
By February 2020, the footings were in place for the new jail addition to the courthouse. It wanted to put on display some of the artifacts that were part of the old jail. There is
would take another 18 months before it was completed also a display case with other pieces of Dickinson County’s law enforcement history.

BOYD EXCAVATING,
Display shows what
INC.
110 SW 7TH ST original jail was like
By Gail Parsons
ABILENE, KS 67410
DCNT News Editor
(785) 263-3472
https://boydexcavatingks.com/ The Dickinson County
Courthouse is part of the
historic district because of
the building; however, his-
tory goes deeper than just
the walls.
Throughout the building
were reminders of an ear-
Since 1956, Boyd Excavating, Inc. has provided customers with lier time. These artifacts
exceptional service and quality workmanship, helping to prepare were not all tossed out
residential and commercial sites for development. Call us for excava- when the new came in.
Visitors to the court-
tion, demolition, trucking, septic and utility installation, foundation house will see displays
work and much more. No job is too big or small for our experienced, that show a bit of Dickin-
son County’s law history.
knowledgeable team to complete! Contact us today to schedule a free Homman has worked
consultation. for the county for nearly
37 years, having started in
See the work of Boyd Excavating, law enforcement. When he
started working in the jail
Inc. at the new Dickinson County in 1982, he had learned the
Courthouse and Jail. controls, which were in
place at the time and didn’t
Thank you for your hard work! think anything of it.
“Through my law en-
forcement career and
through my tenure here,
I've learned that that was
the 50s, 40s, 30s tech-
nology,” he said. “You
no longer build jails with
bars like you see in the
old westerns. And they
certainly don't build them
with hand cranks to open
and close the doors.”
To retain some of that
history he created a dis-
play to show what the old
jail was like when it was
replaced. They saved one
of the sliding cell doors
from the main cell block
and the control panel on
which the jailer would
select what door to open,
then crank a wheel to open
that door.
“As the owners of this
building come through,
and do their daily business
for the next however many
years, they can see what
the old jail looked like,”
he said.
Alongside the jail dis-
play is another one that
shows some of the history
of the Davis brothers. Sher-
iff Bill Davis and Deputy
Milton Davis were killed
in the line of duty while re-
sponding to what ended as
a multiple murder-suicide
in 1949. The display will
include a video about the
incident. Across the hall
Visitors can also watch
another video on a 57-inch
monitor, which will scroll
through pictures detailing
the renovation from the
day of the groundbreaking
through completion.
“You can see the holes in
the ground we dug outside,
you can see the footings,
you see the cells being
brought in on a semi,” he
said. “We thought it might
be of interest to people as
they walked through the
hallway to stop and take a
look at this stuff.”
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
Dickinson County Historical Society | Courtesy photo
After the courthouse burned down a new one, which included a jail was con-
structed where the parking lot of the current courthouse is.
ISSUES Continued from P. 2
Snail’s pace
“Most things drug along
at a snail’s pace and all the
while we could hear the
price of things in the econ-
omy ticking upward,” Hom-
man said. “Every two weeks
we had an owner-contractor
meeting to talk about how
things were progressing and
we’d be sitting at the same
place we were two weeks
ago. “It seemed like every-
thing that could go wrong
— did — except nobody
got hurt, and we were really
thankful for that.”
Homman said he did
not realize how much of a
challenge dividing the proj-
ect into two phases would
pose for Tom Shirack, Loyd
Builder’s project supervisor.
“When we started with
phase 1 they were running
conduit and electricians
were showing up trying to
figure out where the pow-
er in the new building is
coming from,” Homman
said. “Well, it was coming
in from a room in the court-
house that was going to be
built in phase 2.
“So how do we make this
work? We ended up putting
in a generator and power ser-
vice into a room that was be-
ing used and moved part of
the sheriff’s department out.”
Another problematic
phase 1/phase 2 crossover
involved the new HVAC
rooftop units. While they sit
on top of the new addition,
they also serve part of the
original courthouse.
“We had to get 911 dis-
patch out of the basement of
the original courthouse and
had built a temporary office
for them in the old sher-
iff’s department garage. We
tried to put a window air
conditioning unit in there
but it wouldn’t keep it cool
enough. We had to get cli-
mate control in there while
the building was being gut-
ted, but the RTU (rooftop
units) on the jail building
were not hooked up yet and
there was no power in the
courthouse.”
The solution involved
running temporary
ductwork from the new ad-
dition into the old garage
area used by dispatch to
keep staff cool.
Moving out
In order for the renova-
tion to occur, all offices,
except 911 dispatch which
stayed in the old garage
area, had to move some-
where else so the building
could be gutted.
Originally it was thought
Sterl Hall was large enough
to accommodate everyone,
“but once we got to mea-
suring and looking at where
we could put up walls,
the space got smaller and
smaller,” Homman said.
Realizing Sterl Hall could
not accommodate all de-
partments, the county next
looked into renting mod-
ular units, like school dis-
tricts commonly do when
they need extra space, but
that idea was not optimal.
Then the thought of using
the Abilene Civic Center
came to mind.
“I talked to Julie Roller
Weeks (Abilene Conven-
tion and Visitor’s Bureau
Dickinson County News-Times Page 7
Dickinson County
Historical Society
| Courtesy photo
A button from
1908 shows a
representation
of what the first
county court-
house looked
like. Newport
was the original
county seat
and was near
Detroit.
Dickinson County Historical Society | Courtesy photo
The first courthouse built in Abilene was at 204 N. Broadway. It was built in the early 1870s but
destroyed by fire on Jan. 17 1882.
Dickinson County Historical Society
Courtesy photo
TOP LEFT: The 1956 courthouse was
designed in the Modern Movement Industri-
al architectural style. TOP: The courthouse
after a remodel in 1903. LEFT: While main-
taining the historical integrity of the building
the courthouse is now renovated and brought
up to modern standards.
director) and said the civ-
ic center would be ideal,”
slowing down the progress
even more — no thanks to Courts embrace was made to use some of
the ARPA money to pay for
Homman recalled. “It’s
in close proximity to the
fallout from the COVID
pandemic.
technology the $280,000 system.
“We were able to do extra
courthouse, it has ground One positive, however, Before the coronavirus projects using ARPA funds
parking, there’s no stairs came in the form of ARPA shutdown, court proceed- and not local ad valorum
or elevators. We’ll make itfunds, which gave the ings were nearly all done in tax money,” Homman said.
work.” county needed monies that person, but when they went
Roller Weeks worked could be used to enhance remote due to necessity that Adding up
with the city manager and various aspects of the proj- was a game changer. The additional projects,
city commission to make ect, including switching out “When they were forced plus the unexpected costs,
the temporary location a re-
the asphalt parking lot for a to use technology, they brought the total up to ap-
ality for the county. concrete one. found out it was so effi- proximately $18.3 million
“We did an MOU (Mem- “The original specs cient that they will never go from the $15 million origi-
orandum of Understanding) called for an asphalt park- back,” Homman said. nally planned, according to
with the city saying they’ding lot, resurfacing the Most attorneys who rep- Asst. County Administra-
let us use the building forparking lot and having a resent clients in Dickinson tor/Budget Director Janelle
free and we’d make any sidewalk down the mid- County have offices in Salina, Dockendorf.
improvements and pay the dle,” Homman said. “But Junction City and other plac- “Those things all add up,”
expenses,” Homman said. John Gough (former coun- es, meaning they always had Dockendorf said. “Three
“When we leave it will ty engineer) suggested we to drive to Abilene to appear million is a lot of money, but
be the same or better than take that parking lot curb- in Dickinson County Dis- some of that was planned
when we moved in.” ing out. So, when the road trict Court. It is common for expenditures, like the park-
The county made perma- and bridge guys come in an attorney to have hearings ing lot, the courtroom au-
nent improvements to the here at 4 a.m. in the dark to in multiple courts scheduled dio-visual, and the rest
building so it could handleclear snow they won’t have during the same time period. was due to increased costs.
to deal with the curbs.
the various offices’ electri- So, if a hearing in Salina ran COVID played into that.”
cal and technology needs, “When it rains, the water longer than expected, it often Homman and Dockendorf
including adding data and will be a sheet runoff into meant a hearing in Abilene both said the county was
power boxes, rewiring the the grass,” he added. had to be rescheduled. fortunate to have the ARPA
electrical panel, putting in Switching to concrete That problem was pretty money, otherwise the “extras”
an alarm system, replacing cost about $80,000, but well eliminated by going to would not have happened.
the locks in the building, concrete has an approxi- remote hearings on Zoom. “We will be saving mon-
upgrading the plumbing, mate 50-year life span as “The attorney can sit ey in the long run with the
repairing doors that didn’topposed to asphalt with in his office, attend those parking lot,” Homman said.
shut properly and sealing only about 10 years. hearings and never leave “We’re saving money with
them and other fixes. Inadvertently overlooked his desk. And the judge can the efficiency of having the
“This worked out really in the design process was keep his docket going,” audio-visual in the court-
installation of a fire lane
well for us and the city,” he Homman said. room, and the roof needed
said. “It helped them save to park firetrucks if there After learning that Lyon to be done and we were
some budget money which- were a fire. Located on the and Cowley counties had going to have to pay for
helped. During the pandem- northeast side of the build- installed new tech system it whether we used ARPA
ic, they had been shut downing, the fire lane ended up in their courtrooms, money or county money.
and they weren’t having to being an additional $60,000 Homman said he contact- “It was all stuff we didn’t
to $80,000 unplanned cost.
pay utility bills on a place ed the Wichita company have in the plan,” he add-
they couldn’t rent out.” Another unplanned cost that installs the highly-spe- ed. “But I’m thankful that
came when it was discov- cialized systems, specifical- through good planning and
Phase 2 ered the courthouse roof ly geared for the courtroom. good management of our
As phase 2 commenced, needed to be replaced, be- Knowing that the reno- resources we were able to
work force and supply cause it had been done in- vation was the best time to do it without increasing
chain issues were rampant, correctly previously. add the system, the decision anybody’s tax debt.”
Page 8 Dickinson County News-Times Wednesday, July 13, 2022

PATH Continued from P. 1

Jail capacity also was an
issue, particular in an age
where jail populations must
be separated. Obviously,
males cannot be housed
with females, but in today’s
world, other gender clas-
sifications are now in the
mix, plus the need to sep-
arate violent from non-vio-
lent offenders.
Infrastructure failing
Besides the jail and pub-
lic safety problems, the en-
tire courthouse had issues.
The windows were no
longer efficient. Wind
blowing in through win-
dows that were sealed years
ago still would rustle the
blinds and allowed sound to
pass through. When trains
came through, commission
meetings and courtroom
proceedings came to a halt
because of the noise.
Sewer and water lines
were encased in the block
walls which make up the
interior of the building,
making them difficult if not
impossible to repair. Dete-
riorated water pipes pro-
duced leaks, creating prob-
lems for the offices below.
A deteriorating sewer line
in the wall leaked sewer gas
into the register of deeds
office, creating a smell that
not only permeated that of-
fice, but wafted through the
main floor.
Air exchangers in the
heating/AC system were
rotting away and replace-
ment parts were unavail-
able. Luckily, a vendor had
been located that was able
to create made-to-order
parts as a stop gap.
Also, the building had ar-
eas where asbestos needed
to be removed, restrooms
were not ADA-accessible,
basement offices were not
flood proof and there were
other problems.
Early steps
Realizing that “kicking
the can down the road,”
was no longer an option,
county commissioners
Chamberlin, Peterson and
Myers hosted a meeting
in 2013 about the need for
what then was planned to
be a judicial or “Justice
Center” -- bringing all jus-
tice-related functions under
the same roof. Some of the
attendees included repre-
sentatives from the sheriff’s
department, the Abilene
Police Department, the jail,
district and municipal court
and court services.
“First we came up with
the Justice Center propos-
al,” Homman said. “That
was to build a new jail
with a new district court
and courtrooms, the sher-
iff on the second floor, the
Abilene Police Department
on the main floor or vice
versa.”
Homman, who was in-
volved in law enforce-
ment for decades, said he
believed having all the
agencies involved in law
enforcement in the same
building would be benefi-
cial, but the City of Abilene
later decided to go its own
way.
Commissioners ap-
proved a two-mill levy
in August 2013, effective
with the 2014 budget, to
begin funding for a justice
center, knowing it would
not come to fruition for
several years.
“That was about
$200,000 a mill. So,
we were putting about
$400,000 back a year
for several years,” said
County Administrator
Homman.
A small portion of that
money was used to pur-
chase two vacant, dilap-
idated houses that were
located east of the court-
house next to the old (now
demolished) county attor-
ney building. That way,
space would be available
if needed.
Once acquired by the
county, the road and
bridge department demol-
ished the structures in Au-
gust 2015.
While these early steps
were underway, the com-
mission and Homman
were researching what
kind of jail should be built.
Commissioner Chamber-
lin and Homman, along
with the former sheriff
and undersheriff attend-
ed a week-long National
Institute of Corrections
training about designing
Brad Homman | Courtesy photo
The old courthouse had a myriad of infrastructure problems. This is a corroded copper pipe, which came out of
the basement during the renovation.
and building new jails in “They invited us to look (PBC) as the funding The cost was the main
Colorado. it over while it was under mechanism. source of discontent among
“The big thing they told construction.” One month later, the the public. Many thought
us was ‘don’t build a jail Commissioners also PBC approved a resolu- erroneously that the county
so big you can’t afford toured a jail in Seward, tion to issue bonds in the was going to raise taxes to
to operate it’,” Homman Nebraska and one in Mar- amount of $17.735 million pay for the project, but steps
recalled. “In California, ion County where they to finance building a Jus- had been taken to ensure
the state gives money to met with the late Marion tice Center and renovate taxes would not be used.
build local jails, but you County Sheriff Bob Kraft the courthouse. Despite the no vote, the
(the local county) have to and a couple residents The resolution included need still existed.
run it yourself. One Cal- who served on that coun- the county’s intent to uti- “We went back to the
ifornia county had really ty’s jail board. lize the municipal finance drawing board and rede-
big eyes and built a 600 “Their message was the company, Piper-Jaffray signed,” Homman said, ex-
to 700 bed jail, but they same as the one we heard and Co. of Leawood, to plaining the Justice Center
couldn’t afford to open in Colorado: Don’t build serve as legal counsel for was scrapped and the proj-
the doors. It had been sit- anything so big you can’t the bonds. It also signaled ect narrowed down. “We
ting vacant. That was a operate it,” Homman the start of a 30-day protest took district court, court of-
good example of what not said. “Build it to a scale period, allowing the pub- fices and courtrooms out of
to do.” that will serve you quite a lic to force the issue to an it and lowered the price to
while. They told the pub- election. $15 million.”
lic they were not going Of the $15 million,
Getting started to build anything fancy. A resounding no $1.8 had already been set
A big step in the pro- So, we decided we were Public reaction was aside to finance the project
cess involved hiring an going to build it practi- quick. Even though sto- through the two-mill levy
architect and construc- cal. You don’t see marble ries in the local newspa- started in 2014, while $13.5
tion manager at risk, countertops. You won’t per had been covering the million would be funded
working as a team. Four see ceramic tile on the process for at least four with bonds issued by the
interviews were held in floors. We’ve got Formi- years, people felt they had county’s Public Building
November 2015. After a ca, brick and block.” not been informed. A town Commission.
thorough vetting process Next, a 14-member Jus- hall meeting brought out The commission heard
was completed, Gold- tice Advisory Committee a large number of people the public’s desire to vote
berg Group Architects of was created and tasked with vehemently opposed to the on the question and decided
St. Joseph, Missouri, and doing a preliminary needs idea. People wanted the to place the new bond issue
Loyd Builders of Ottawa, assessment and helping opportunity to vote on the on the ballot.
were selected to design gain public support. question. In August 2018, Dickin-
and build the new jail and In February 2017, A protest petition with son County voters narrowly
complete the courthouse the advisory committee the needed number of sig- approved the pared-down
renovation. told commissioners they natures was verified and version — a $13.5 million
“Goldberg had selected should proceed with plans the question was placed on bond issue to build the new
Loyd Builders to work to build a justice center a mail-in ballot in August jail and renovate the exist-
with,” Homman said. and remodel the current 2017. When the votes were ing courthouse — by a 51-
“They were already work- courthouse, using the counted, the Justice Center vote margin.
ing together on a new jail Dickinson County Public bond issue failed by 308 And then the real work
project in Miami County. Building Commission votes. began.

Energy efficiency was key factor in remodel

By Gail Parsons
DCNT News Editor
Energy efficiency has
come a long way since the
1950s when the Dickinson
County Courthouse was
first built. One of the goals
in the renovation was to
find a way to cut the utility
bills in half, if not more.
“We did a utility study
a few years ago,” said
County Administra-
tor Brad Homman. “We
learned what we already
knew — that our building
isn't sealed well, it's not
insulated. We're paying a
lot more for gas and elec-
tricity than we should. By
doing some new stuff we
can really cut that bill in
half.”
One of the features
is that every room is
now equipped with an
occupancy sensor. If there
is no movement in the
room for 10 minutes the
lights will go off. When a
person walks into a room
or hallway, the lights will
come on.
All lighting is also LED,
which, according to the
U.S. Department of Ener-
gy use at least 75% less
energy, and last up to 25
times longer, than incan-
descent lighting.
“The heating and air
conditioning are all cur-
rent technology, state-
of-the-art, rooftop units
that blow and do it in the
most efficient way possi-
ble,” Homman said. “The
rooms all have their indi-
vidual thermostats, but It's
all designed to be very,
very, very efficient.”
The windows, which
used to let cold air in have
all been replaced with dou-
ble-pane, thermally broken
windows. Thermally bro-
ken windows have a pro-
tective border between the
outside part of the window
frame and the inside. This
insulator helps to ensure
that when the external part
of the frame is freezing, the
internal part won’t. It stops
condensation and thin ice
from forming on the inside.
Only time will tell just
how much the utility bills are
cut. However, in making that
determination Homman said
they need to take into ac-
count that the old courthouse
did not include the jail.
“We're heating and cool-
ing so much more at a frac-
tion of the cost per square
foot,” he said.

At long last moving-back day arrived Gail Parsons | DCNT file photo
It took just over a year from the day staff moved out of the old courthouse and into temporary offices at Sterl Hall and the Abilene Civic Center before they could pack up
and move into their newly renovated spaces. Despite waking up to snow on the ground, staff from Dickinson County District Court, Community Corrections, Court Ser-
vices and the County Attorney’s office moved in March 6 and 7. Other offices were moved in the following weeks.