While friction among the commissioners continues to grow over the mounting costs of restoration, the county is proceeding with the next step in its efforts to restore the former county courthouse.

The Board of Commissioners voted 5 to 2 in favor of approving a contract with Kalamazoo’s Miller-Davis for planning and oversight services for construction of a new roof for the century-old structure, during its regular meeting Thursday night in Cassopolis.

Under the terms of the agreement, the construction company will head up the building process for replacement roofing for the former county courthouse, with a budget range of $100,000 to $110,000, said County Administrator Roger Fraser.

“We believe it’s a very complex project, because of all of the angles, all of the integrated downspouts and gutters that have to be repaired if not rebuilt, in addition to the roofing itself,” Fraser said. “Because of this complexity, they [Miller-Davis] could put together the request for proposals for the roofing contractors. They could prescreen those contractors, and then they would oversee the project.”

The county had recently worked with the contractor in the repair of the courthouse’s roofing support beams, which was recently completed, on time and under budget, Fraser said.

The roofing repair is the latest step the county has taken in repairing the vintage downtown Cassopolis courthouse, which was closed following the opening of the Cass County Law and Courts Building in 2003. The county has been working for more than a year to stabilize the ailing structure for potential renovation work, with work previously performed on the building’s HVAC system.

Voting “no” to the contract Thursday were Commissioners Robert Wagel and Skip Dyes — the former due to concerns about the costs of the project, and the latter because of his continuing concerns about the lack of formal plans for the renovation work.

With discussions about purchasing a new imaging system for the county’s Friend of the Court department and the implementation of a new employee health care policy also taking place that night, Wagel said he wasn’t sure if the county could handle such a significant investment.

“I want to see that building preserved,” Wagel said. “But we really need to set our priorities on what we’re going to be doing. If we want to discard imaging, OK, we can do the roof. But if we’re going to do imaging, we have to look at some other alternatives.”

Voting “yes” to the agreement were Chairperson Bernie Williamson, Vice-Chairperson Robert Ziliak, and Commissioners E. Clark Cobb, Dixie Ann File and Roseann Marchetti.

“I’m also concerned about the money,” Marchetti said. “But I don’t think we can leave that building without a new roof.”

The commissioners also voted to approve a contract with Miller-Davis for ongoing construction consulting work for the courthouse, by a vote of 5 to 2.