Photo by RR Best
Pictured is the head of buildings and grounds Rick Matthews illustrating the damage done to the courthouse over time.

•August 19, 2015•

By Mike Brothers

Moultrie County is sprucing up the courthouse.

On Thursday, August 20 the Moultrie County Board proceeded with the restoration of the exterior of the courthouse with a unanimous vote, based on the recommendation of Building and Grounds Committee chair Gary Smith.

Low bid of $203,755 was awarded Masons Masonry Restoration of Brownstown, Ill.

At the bid opening earlier in the week Tim Raibley from Architercture & Design Group Ltd of Mt. Carmel explained the basic bid was for 200 feet of crack repair and 50 large stone patches needed for the building. Raibley noted that Masons had just completed a similar project on the Richland County courthouse in Olney.

Board chair Dave McCabe explained the county intends to pay for the project from surplus funds.

“We’ve been building reserves,” McCabe said, noting an extra $100,000 loan payment on the jail will be deferred to the tuck pointing project this year.

Potential funding from the city of Sullivan is also being sought.

The serious failure of the tuckpointing is allowing moisture into the building.

A moisture situation on the third floor is among interior issues the board hopes the restoration project will address. McCabe said loose stones and tuckpointing issues on the courthouse came to the board’s attention about a year ago.

Moultrie County Courthouse was built in 1904 and has been well-maintained over the years.      Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.