Several big-budget building projects moved forward Friday, thanks to the Allen County Commissioners.
The commissioners awarded a $1.28 million contract for repairs to the county courthouse's limestone exterior to General Restoration of Columbus, Ohio. The project, which will include cleaning, tuck pointing and replacement of broken or missing fixtures, had been expected to cost $1.4 million.
Sheriff Ken Fries, meanwhile, moved one step closer to his dream of opening a training center on 200 acres at Adams Center and Paulding roads when the commissioners awarded a $351,000 contract to Fleming Excavating Co. of Decatur for construction of an outdoor shooting range. The project, funded through cash seized during a huge 2007 marijuana bust in Harlan, had been expected to cost around $475,000.
Fries said construction should begin by the end of the month and take 120 days to complete.
Two Department of Health projects also received funding. The commissioners approved a $117,000 contract with Grinsfelder Associates for architectural work on the department's new clinic on New Haven Avenue in a former credit union building originally purchased as a new home for the Sheriff's Department. The facility, which will allow consolidation of several clinics now located in the City-County Building and at other sites, is expected to cost about $2 million.
The commissioners also approved a $204,430 contract with Feuser Contracting of Fort Wayne for construction of a new Health Department storage building off Lima Road.
