It’s happening right on cue.

As Barton County prepares to replace the HVAC system in the Courthouse, the current air conditioner is leaking in various county offices and shutting down entirely, something it has done twice in the past week, most recently Monday.

“Coming in on Monday, every unit was blowing out warm air,” County Administrator Matt Patzner said, addressing the County Commission Wednesday morning. Luckily, county maintenance personnel were able to take the chiller apart, take out the rusty shards and got it working “for the meantime, hopefully for the next few weeks.”

The county is undertaking a  $4.2 million year-long project to replace the courthouse’s heating, cooling and ventilation. This effort will force the closure of the building, scattering county offices to temporary locations.

The moving out has commenced. The work is slated to begin July 17.

“This morning, courtroom A (on the third floor) had a leak went through the ceiling and its leaking down in the County Clerk’s Office (on the second floor) right now,” he said. 

This is not just a drip, County Clerk Bev Schmeidler said. “We can hear it running.”

The leak has stained a ceiling tile and a bucket is catching the water that falls into the office.

These leaks have been a problem for over a decade, but are becoming more frequent, Patzner said.

“It’s starting to come apart at the seams,” commission Chairman Shawn Hutchinson, District 3, said. “I think we have officially gotten our money’s worth out of the existing system.”

“It just needs to get us through a few more weeks,” Patzner said.

“It’s good to know that we’re making the right decision, even though it’s tough,” Hutchinson said of the project’s hefty pricetag.