Consultant to study GF County dome

Grand Forks County will spend over $48,000 dollars to hire a consultant to come up with a fix to the leaky courthouse dome.

County Administrator Tom Ford says the historic nature of the building makes it more difficult to hire a contractor with that level of expertise. The plan calls for the Minneapolis-based architecture firm Miller Dunwiddie to conduct the assessment and provide a recommendation for repairs.

Ford says unfortunately there doesn’t appear to be a lot of available grant money to help fund the project.  “The historical preservation grant was not funded this last legislative session.”

Earlier this year several holes were discovered in the cast iron dome resulting in rain water to leak onto the third floor. The courthouse dates back to 1913.
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The Grand Forks County Commission has also endorsed a plan to replace three aging cooling systems on the courthouse at a cost of nearly $610,000 dollars.