ABOVE: The murals on the inside of the Martin County Courthouse dome in Fairmont will officially be worked on in an attempt to repair and restore them. Sentinel file photo.

FAIRMONT–The Martin County Courthouse dome murals are officially going to be worked on in an attempt to fully repair and restore them after the Martin County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a bid of $207,858 for the work.

Building Maintenance Supervisor Luke Cyphers said there was a bid opening on April 16 for the project and Conrad Schmitt Studios (CSS), who previously did an assessment of the murals, was the lone bidder. There is a possible start date of May 11.

“The hopeful completion date would be June 15 if everything goes well and we don’t have any unforeseen problems,” Cyphers said.

He said that with that current bid, they’re planning to save all four of the large murals on the third floor of the courthouse, which are well over 100 years old. However, here is a contingency option in the event that the Peace mural, which is in the most dire condition, cannot be restored. In that case, CSS will communicate with the county and provide the additional cost.

Cyphers also pointed out that additional scaffolding will need to be brought in. The rent for the scaffolding is currently $576 a month, which will go to $1,359 per month, plus the cost to bring it in.

A motion to award the bid to CSS passed unanimously.

Moving to other matters, the board further discussed the project priorities for the Law Enforcement Center (LEC) building renovations. The board had last discussed the project at length during a work session on April 7.

Following a facility conditions assessment by Olseon and Hobbie Architects, the building committee had wanted to see if the renovations, totaling between $6.3 and $7.2 million, could be done in phases so as to be less disruptive to staff.

Along with addressing other needs, work to the roof of the LEC would be included in phase one.

Commissioner Richard Koons said, “we have a three phase thing that’s discombobulated in construction-minded thought process. I think with where we’re at, either our building committee or a couple of people who understand construction need to sit down with Oleson and Hobbie and ICS… we have things in phase one and things in phase three that should be done together.”

He added that that’s why he suggested at the work session that the project all be done together at the same time.

Commissioner Kevin Kristenson agreed that some adjustments could be made so that some things in phase three could be done as part of phase one.

“We need to reprioritize the phases. The roof is priority one. The air conditioning is priority one. The insulation is priority one. The windows are priority one,” Koons said.

Commissioner Joe Loughmiller asked Chris Ziemer with ICS, the construction management firm, whether there were items in phase three that should be in phase one.

“I’ve just taken a cursory look at it, but I think yes, it’s disjointed a little bit,” Ziemer said

Commissioner Jaime Bleess said he would like to have ICS involved for efficiency but also because the county has a previous outstanding balance with the company from work it was previously pursuing on a new justice center.

Cyphers asked for some clarification on what the board’s end goal was concerning the repairs and how far it wanted to take them.

“We still don’t have an end goal and a term life for the building,” Cyphers said.

Koons said he thought the board was looking at a 25 to 30 year commitment.

“If we’re not going to build a new justice center, which we’re not, I would rather build for the future here so that we’re not 10 years down the road going ‘would, coulda, shoulda.’ If we can afford to build it right and make it as functional as it can be… I think we should build for the future,” Loughmiller said.

He made a motion to get ICS, Oleson and Hobbie and the building committee together to further discuss priorities and phases.

Bleess and Commissioner Billeye Rabbe both asked for clarification on who would be involved.

“Hopefully the sheriff’s office because that’s where they work and live,” Bleess said.

Rabbe seconded Loughmiller’s motion, which includes representation from the sheriff’s office, and the motion passed unanimously.

Finally, the board approved the office lease agreement between Martin County and Department of Corrections (DOC) Felony Office. The office at 117 Main Street is moving to the LEC.

Cyphers gave a brief update on the work that is currently being done so that the office will be ready in the LEC building.

“My goal is to get STS (Sentence to Service) in there to paint all four offices. If everything goes well it could be even this weekend,” Cyphers said.

County Coordinator Scott Higgins said that based on bid estimates, the cost to remodel the offices was $23,984 and Cyphers said that to date they are abiding by that original number but that something minor may come up.

The board approved and authorized the termination of the lease at 117 Main Street in Fairmont with a termination date of May 31, 2026. The board approved a second motion to sign the lease agreement between Martin County and the State of Minnesota DOC for office space located in the LEC for a term of five years beginning June 1, 2026 in the amount of $135,978.

In other business, the board:

— Received a first quarter CashVest progress report from Alex DeRosa concerning the county’s fixed-income investments and financial liquidity and banking.

— Approved the hire of Melina Vick as a full-time corrections officer for the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.

— Approved the application of the 2026-27 maintenance funding application of the Existing GIA Trail System by the Blizzard Snowmobile Club.

— Went into closed session to discuss union negotiation strategies.