Commissioners approve HVAC repair at outdoor range using remaining OSBM grant interest or alternate county funds

Caleb Tilly, engineering and public utilities director, asked the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners Dec. 1 to reallocate remaining grant funds from a prior OSBM (Office of State Budget and Management) award to replace a failing HVAC unit at an outdoor range trailer.

Tilly said the earlier indoor-range design funding ($245,445) left a remaining OSBM balance of $8,034 (including $3,479 in interest) and estimated the HVAC replacement at $7,950. He recommended using the remaining OSBM funds instead of county dollars to complete the repair to protect indoor air quality and avoid further damage.

Commissioners debated whether the OSBM grant could be repurposed; Commissioner Burke recalled the grant and other project donations were for a specific indoor-range purpose and raised legal concerns about redirecting the state funds. Tilly said he believed OSBM would permit a scope rewrite to include HVAC but offered that the county could fund the repair if state funds could not be used.

Commissioner Richardson moved to approve the repair contingent on locating funds within existing sources, specifically within the sheriff's budget; Commissioner Berger seconded the motion. The motion carried.

The board directed staff to check legal permissibility and, if the OSBM funds could not be repurposed, to find another funding source or process a budget amendment. The recorded grant and estimate figures will be verified in follow-up budget paperwork.