FORT SCOTT - Bourbon County commissioners voted during Monday nights meeting to authorize Commissioner David Beerbower to sign a contract with Apex Environmental for asbestos testing at the courthouse. The testing is scheduled for Sept. 29, alongside an inspection by Otis Elevator tied to the courthouse's elevator modernization project.
Commissioner Mika Milburn-Kee made the motion authorizing Beerbower to sign the Apex agreement, and Vice Chairman Allen seconded it.
The agreement had been drafted for Beerbower's signature, though Commissioner Samuel Tran noted such contracts are typically signed by the commission chair. Beerbower said he holds separate signature authorization that allows him to sign it directly.
Beerbower said Otis will inspect the elevator first, after which Apex will move to the third-floor jury room or the basement to collect samples. Apex crews are also expected to check flooring near the entrance of 108 W. Second St., the building the county is preparing as a temporary court location during the elevator project.
Beerbower said Apex also agreed to review the broader space at 108 W. Second St. as the county prepares the building for renovation work.
Milburn-Kee asked whether Beerbower was directing Apex on where to sample or deferring to the firm's expertise.
"I'm not touching [it]," Beerbower said. "They're experts, not me."
Beerbower said he does not know the exact location of the pipe in question and plans to have a maintenance employee take him to it before Apex arrives. Tran asked how many samples Apex intended to collect, and Beerbower said the firm had not given a number but could take up to 30 if commissioners wanted, at an added cost for each one.
Milburn-Kee then moved to limit attendance during the sampling to county employees, the elected official present and Apex's contractors, and Tran seconded the motion.
"I think it'd be better if the company and yourself and the employees know," Milburn-Kee said. "I don't think that you need citizen involvement."
The motion was aimed at excluding Michael Hoyt, former Deputy Clerk, whom Beerbower described as a "citizen advocate" who regularly attends commission meetings and had asked to accompany the inspection. Beerbower argued that commissioners would also be observing as private individuals and saw no reason to treat Hoyt's attendance differently.
"He's acting as a citizen, and I don't see an issue with a citizen accompanying us to view what that company does," Beerbower said.
Tran acknowledged the county has an issue it is working to fix. He said it had been known within the courthouse well before he or Beerbower took office.
"It became a controversy because somebody took it and broadcast it all over the news prior to coming to the board with the results," Tran said. "It didn't need to be blown out of proportion, and it was blown out of proportion."
Tran said liability and insurance should also be factored into the board's concerns about allowing outside visitors at testing and construction sites. Milburn-Kee said Hoyt had been a county employee when the pipe issue first surfaced but no longer works for the county.
She said allowing him to join could invite similar requests from others.
"You might be leading a tour of 20 individuals if you go down this route," Milburn-Kee said.
Tran raised a point of order, and Allen closed discussion before the commission voted. The motion to limit attendance passed 3-1, with Beerbower casting the only dissenting vote.
The Sept. 29 testing also marks the first phase of the courthouse relocation project, which will move court operations to 108 W. Second St. while the elevator at the main courthouse, 210 N. National, is out of service. The relocation is intended to keep court proceedings running through virtual hearings during the elevator work.
Beerbower said the temporary site is expected to include three virtual courtrooms, one for public proceedings and two for defendants or witnesses. He said the asbestos inspection was originally scheduled for Sept. 21.
"The timeline was pushed back from the 21st to the 29th because of Apex's commitments," Beerbower said.
Beerbower said the elevator modernization schedule itself could also move to accommodate the delay.
"There's a high possibility that we move the date of the modernization to allow us to catch up," Beerbower said.
Commissioners did not set a new date for the elevator project at the Sept. 21 meeting. Beerbower said Apex and Otis representatives would join him, maintenance staff and county employees at the courthouse the morning of Sept. 29.
See related articles: County votes 4-0 for courthouse asbestos inspection after Monday deadlock, 'You've Got a Serious, Serious Problem': Asbestos Expert Sounds Alarm on Courthouse, County commission hits stalemate on courthouse asbestos testing, Fired on Day 90: County Dismissed Maintenance Worker Hours After He Sought Asbestos Testing
