EPM Says System At County Courthouse Working As Intended

More than three months after several Crawford County officials voiced their complaints over a system intended to better control the climate at the courthouse, commissioners Tuesday read the report from EPM.

EPM installed the system in 2021, which cost $200,000 and was paid for through CARES Act funds. The CARES Act was the first COVID-19 package that was passed in 2020 that provided money to states, counties and municipalities to seek virus mitigation.

EPM sold the county on a system that they promised would not only keep the temperature efficient, but release ions into the air that counteracted particles.

EPM officials spent the next several weeks meeting with each county official or employee who was having issues with the system.

In the company’s report, they found no issues with any of the technology and said all sensors are working as intended.

Presiding Commissioner Leo Sanders said he met recently with EPM President Ben Trout, who was at the March 15 meeting that became an airing of grievances over the system.

Sanders said Trout assured him the system worked and there were other things they could do to fix the heating and cooling issues that plague the courthouse, but the presiding commissioner said it would cost a lot more money.

Sanders said some of the issues with the system are a result of individuals in offices using space heaters to warm up their areas, which muddies the reading of the sensors.

Some officials, like County Clerk John Martin and Circuit Court Clerk Karen Harlan, are not using the EPM thermostats. They wanted control over the temperature in their respective offices.

Martin was blunt in his assessment of EPM’s system last March, saying that he didn’t care for their product and it doesn’t work like they were told.

Sanders conceded that a new HVAC system might be necessary to better heat and cool the facility. However, it would be an expensive fix.