The guts of the Miami County Courthouse and Safety Building will get a closer look from consultants hired last week to design HVAC and security upgrades along with plumbing modifications.

Garmann-Miller & Associates Inc. of Minster will be paid $227,000 to design work that needs done and cost estimates to carry out those changes to the 1880s Courthouse and the nearby Safety Building constructed in the early 1970s.

A contract on the work outlined by consultants is expected to be bid later this year. The county commissioners, anticipating the project, earlier included around $2 million in borrowing for the work.

“A lot of design is yet to be done,” Chris Johnson, county facilities manager, told commissioners during a March 4 discussion with Chris Monnin of Garmann-Miller. The company does a lot of work in public sector such as having a hand in renovations of the Auglaize County Courthouse, Monnin said.

Commission President John “Bud” O’Brien said the consultants have been tasked with creating a design featuring that incorporates best practices and is “as digital as possible.”

The project will include design and upgrade of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in both building. The security system will be replaced in areas such as entry doors and video monitoring.

The plumbing in both systems will be inspected, designed and replaced.

The plumbing work will include the maximum-security jail located on the north end of the Safety Building. Plumbing issues were among concerns pointed out by the county health department orders for repairs in the jail last fall.

The Safety Building has its original 1973 infrastructure, O’Brien said. “We have normal wear and tear plus the jail is a 24-7 operation and is on many occasions abused by inmates,” he said.

The project initially was discussed for HVAC and plumbing. However, security was added because parts of today’s security systems are tied to digital HVAC controls, O’Brien said.

The HVAC upgrade project in particular is expected to save the county on utility bills.

The design work, in addition to providing costs estimates, is also expected to provide numbers on potential return on the improvements investments.