Genesee County’s next round of capital repairs is putting exterior masonry back in the spotlight, with a proposed contract of more than $6.4 million aimed at stopping water infiltration and addressing facade safety issues at the county jail and courthouse in downtown Flint.
The Genesee County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to consider a contract with Spartan Construction Group, a Livonia-based contractor, focused on exterior masonry and flashing repairs. County documents describe ongoing problems tied to water leaks, failed sealants, and deteriorated joints in the two side-by-side buildings on Saginaw Street.
The urgency is not abstract. County officials have said bricks have fallen from the jail’s five-story exterior in the past, prompting short-term fixes, active monitoring, and fencing in areas where falling material created a hazard for people walking near the building. The jail opened in 1988.
The proposal also includes work tied to a snow-melt system at the original courthouse entrance stairs, landing, and ramp, another reminder that exterior building systems and envelope details tend to connect. When masonry walls, joints, and flashing assemblies are not directing water out the way they were designed to, moisture shows up inside and the freeze-thaw cycle takes over outside.
The contract discussion follows a broader capital plan approved in 2024, when commissioners agreed to borrow up to $21.5 million for county building improvements. The courthouse, constructed in 1926 and expanded and renovated in 2001, is projected to need more than $15 million in repairs over the next seven years, including masonry work covered under the proposed Spartan contract.
Commissioners are expected to take up initial approval in a Government Operations Committee meeting, scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m.
Read the full, original article from MLive.com here.