Marshall County Commissioners approve Industrial Appraisal Agreement for 4 county buildings

The Marshall County Commissioners approved an Industrial Appraisal Agreement that will provide the county with accurate replacement cost values and cash value assessments for 4 county-owned buildings that have never undergone an insurance appraisal.

Commissioner Stan Klotz noted that while the buildings were appraised for value at the time the county purchased them, none have ever received a formal insurance appraisal. The four buildings include the Community Corrections building at the southwest corner of Jefferson and Plum Streets, the new County Health Department at the corner of Dora and Illinois Streets, the Marshall County Morgue located behind the jail, and the new County Maintenance building at the southeast corner of Plum and Jackson Streets.

Klotz said he identified a company that will conduct on-site visits to each of the four buildings to perform the appraisals.

Mike Miley, the county's insurance consultant, explained that when the buildings were either purchased or built, the commissioners and he did their best to estimate rebuilding costs, but emphasized that they are not contractors. He noted that all county property is insured on a replacement cost value basis, which differs significantly from real estate market value because building costs do not include land and similar factors.

"Replacement cost could be higher than what the market value is of those properties," Miley said.

Klotz noted that the appraisal will give the county accurate replacement costs, and Miley added that it will also provide an actual cash value assessment.

The county received a 10% discount on the appraisal because Gibson Insurance serves as the county's broker, bringing the total cost to $1,980.

The commissioners voted 3-0 to approve the Industrial Appraisal Agreement for 2027.