County Board Awards $94,888 Historic Courthouse Boiler Contract on Sole Bid

Article Summary: The Montgomery County Board voted unanimously Tuesday to award a $94,888 contract to Henson Robinson Company of Springfield to replace the inoperable boiler in the Historic Courthouse, with $78,050 of the cost to be reimbursed by a state energy grant and the county’s $16,838 share coming from Coal Fund 375. The board also funded a replacement incinerator at Animal Control, bought a new courthouse picnic table and left two other building projects unresolved.

Historic Courthouse Boiler Key Points:

Only one bid was received; the board’s motion described the $94,888 figure as “the low bid.”

The DCEO Energy Transition Grant will reimburse $78,050, leaving a county share of $16,838 approved separately from Coal Fund 375.

The same Fund 375 motion approved $11,955 to replace the inoperable Animal Control incinerator — $11,205 plus $750 for installation.

Board members took no action on a leaking Animal Control roof or on a ramp and porch replacement at 127 N. Main after learning the apparent low bid on that job “was not correct.”

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — The Montgomery County Board on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, voted 14-0 to award a $94,888 contract to Henson Robinson Company of Springfield to replace the inoperable boiler in the Historic Courthouse in Hillsboro, the single largest building project the board acted on at its regular monthly meeting.

Buildings & Grounds Committee Chairman Mark Hughes told the board the committee received only one bid for the work. The motion, made by Hughes and seconded by Jeremy Jones, was worded as awarding “the low bid of $94,888.” Every member present voted yes on the roll call: Russell Beason, Connie Beck, Rob Corso, Chris Daniels, Doug Donaldson, Cody Gudgel, Keith Hancock, Hughes, Jones, Ethan Murzynski, Chad Ruppert, Roy Schieferdecker, Patty Whitworth and Evan Young.

Grant Covers Most of Boiler Cost

Hughes said $78,050 of the contract price will be reimbursed by the DCEO Energy Transition Grant, a program the county has drawn on repeatedly over the past year. That leaves the county responsible for $16,838.

The board approved that amount as a separate expenditure later in the meeting, under the Finance & Budget Committee report. On a motion by Committee Chairwoman Connie Beck, seconded by Chris Daniels, members voted unanimously to approve “Fund 375 expenditures of $16,838 for the Historic Courthouse boiler in excess of grant funding, and $11,955 to replace the Animal Control incinerator.”

Fund 375 is the county’s coal royalty fund, financed by a 2% royalty on coal mine royalties and divided among reserve, operating and maintenance, and capital improvement accounts. As of the May reports presented to the board Tuesday, the fund held $10,801,654.82.

The incinerator figure reflects a proposal reviewed by the Buildings & Grounds Committee at $11,205 plus $750 for installation. Hughes said the existing incinerator at the county’s Animal Control facility is inoperable, and the committee had recommended paying for the replacement from Fund 375.

Maintenance records filed with the board for the meeting show county crews have been working on the equipment for weeks. Maintenance Director Phil Ernst’s July 7 report lists a trip to the Animal Control incinerator building to replace “the gun and 1.35 nozzle tip” on the top barrel burner, a later inspection that found soot buildup and a diesel fuel spot in the rocks, and a subsequent call in which the primary burner was down, bad wiring was found and repaired, a new gun was installed and a copper fuel line was added.

The same report notes that Henson Robinson replaced gauges for Lochinvar boilers at county buildings and carried out maintenance-agreement work on a chiller, washing out condensing tubes and finding a leak on one circuit.

Animal Control Roof, Courthouse Porch Left Unresolved

Two building items came to the board without recommendations for action.

Committee Vice Chairman Russell Beason reported that the committee had reviewed two proposals of approximately $25,000 each to reseal the leaking metal roof at Animal Control, along with a proposal of approximately $29,000 to reroof the building. Rather than choose among them, the committee asked Ernst to research other options. The minutes name no vendors and record no exact figures.

At 127 N. Main — the county building housing probation and specialty court operations — Hughes said the committee reviewed three proposals to replace the ramp and porch at the front of the building, ranging from $65,000 to $19,500, “but later learned the low bid was not correct.” No motion followed, and the minutes do not identify the bidders or say what was wrong with the low figure.

Work at that building has continued in the meantime. Ernst’s report records that Weiss Construction removed two 32-inch doors to clinic rooms and installed two new 36-inch doors, that a wall was framed and painted around an air handling unit, that Hillsboro Electric replaced lighting with straight LED tubes and moved a light switch, and that a plumbing contractor tore out a hole in the basement to replace a sewer line but was unable to get under the foundation wall and will need to dig outside. Weiss Construction appears on the Fund 375 voucher list approved Tuesday at $5,550.

The board did make one small purchase: on a motion by Hughes, seconded by Beck, members voted unanimously to buy an 8-foot metal picnic table with thermoplastic coating from Uline for $1,095, replacing the table on the north side of the Historic Courthouse.

The committee also discussed uniform signage for new county buildings. No motion was taken.

Ernst reported the Maintenance Department completed 64 work orders in June and worked several overtime hours. His written report also records that the county paid Otis Elevator a $650 surcharge attributed to a logistics and fuel impact fee.