By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
It takes a little bit to get Barton County Counselor Patrick Hoffman fired up. A little good news during Tuesday morning's commission meeting was enough to do it. County Administrator Matt Patzner announced that tax credits had been received as the final step in the HVAC renovation project at the courthouse.
"In late 2024, the county solicited bids from interested parties in purchasing Kansas Rehabilitation Tax Credits that were issued for our HVAC project at the Barton County Courthouse," he said. "On Nov. 26, 2024, the commission awarded the Kansas Rehabilitation Tax Credits bid to Clocktower Tax Credits. The total amount of the tax credits was $1,463,440."
The county received approximately 93 cents on the dollar for the credits, meaning $1,358,218.66 was deposited back into the county coffers. With change orders, the renovation cost the county $5.182 million. With the tax credits, the final cost came in $358,000 under the original bid of $4.182 million. That was enough to get Hoffman excited.
"It's just an amazing project," he said. "I sat in the back corner and thought this is the craziest thing they're doing. This is going to be a disaster. I was completely wrong. I'm just thrilled to have this final piece in place. If I had a football, I would spike it right now."
Among other things, the renovation included the new heating and air system, new plumbing, paint, carpet, and moving the treasurer's office from the second floor to the first floor for convenience to the public.