The Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday, approved the issuance of $1.2 million in general obligation bonds for improvements in the courthouse and adjacent areas. According to the Daily NonPareil, the unanimous vote paves the way for the county’s Buildings and Grounds Department to seek bids for the sale of the bonds to help fund safety and security measures.

Proposed projects include the installation of fire sprinklers in the ceilings on the first and second floors, as well as the basement. A new air conditioning system will be installed at the same time as work is being done on the ceilings and new lights are installed. That project will cost about $510,000.

The building’s four elevators need replacements of some of the control mechanisms. Expected cost there is $400,000. And,  to improve security, electronic card access will replace keys for 31 doors throughout the building, as well as a nearby building used for storing election materials. The card access project is expected to cost $86,000.

Two other projects involving the paving of four county parking lots in the area,  and renovation of the courthouse restrooms to make them complaint with standards of the Americans With Disabilities Act, will add about $230,000 to the price tag. The bond funds will be paid back from the county’s debt services levy. The bonds are to be paid back over a five- to seven-year period.