The Windows That Couldn't Be Washed Are Getting A Clean

The curved bank of windows on the front of the Dane County Courthouse has not been cleaned since the building opened in 2006. The county has decided they will be cleaned by a Milwaukee contractor.

Remember this? The Windows That Can't Be Washed.

After five years, filthy courthouse windows to get a wash: More than five years after they were installed, the curved bank of windows on the front of the Dane County Courthouse will get their first cleaning. And it couldn’t come a moment too soon. The windows, now opaque due to dust, grime, bird droppings, cobwebs and other filth, have proven difficult to clean in lean budget times but will finally be washed by a Milwaukee window cleaning contractor, said Dane County Director of Administration Travis Myren.

Because of the design of the courthouse, the windows can’t be reached using a standard window cleaner’s platform. Myren said he doesn’t know when the cleaning will happen, but it will probably be on a Sunday because a boom truck will likely have to be parked in front of the courthouse on South Hamilton Street, blocking some traffic. The contractor, Al’s Window Cleaning, will be paid $3,600 to clean the windows. Myren said the money comes from putting off cleaning other county windows.

District Court Administrator Gail Richardson contained her delight about the upcoming cleaning. “Yes, I’m very pleased to know that the Department of Administration has found a contractor who can and will clean the front windows,” Richardson said. But as to whether the next cleaning will take another five years, Myren wouldn’t make predictions. “Unfortunately I don’t know what the budgets are going to look like next year or the following year,” Myren said. “We’re limited to providing cleaning projects with the funds we have available.”

Two years a go when they needed cleaning then. Spot the difference.