Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Thursday, August 7, 2014
(NASHVILLE) - An expert in the preservation of historic courthouses will present his report on options to preserve and renovate the Brown County Courthouse at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14.
The public will be asked for input during the meeting.
James A. Glass' 57-page report explores the pros, cons and costs of three options: build a courthouse addition and place court-related offices there; build a new courthouse at the Law Enforcement Center site for court-related functions; or keep current functions in the courthouse and only take care of emergency fixes at this time.
The Brown County Democrat reports says the Glass' report addresses space needs not just at the courthouse, but also for county offices housed in the County Office Building.
Using interviews by architect Burt Perdue in 2012 and others by Glass' staff, Glass maps out the square footage each office anticipates needing in the next five to 10 years.
One idea is to move the recorder, auditor and assessor into the courthouse from the County Office Building, with the auditor occupying the second-floor space that is now the courtroom, the assessor in the second-floor court office space and the recorder on the ground floor.
Such moves would allow the remaining County Office Building occupants - surveyor, planning and building, health department, commissioners, technology and treasurer - to reconfigure space in that building.
In that scenario, the county would continue to maintain the historic building.
Another option he presents to keep the courthouse in use is for the Brown County Convention and Visitors Bureau to either lease office and Visitors Center space there from the county, or for the CVB to become the owner of the building.
Space not used for the CVB could be leased to other tenants.
Either of those last two scenarios assumes a new courthouse would be built to accommodate offices related to the court.
To view the complete report, click here.
1340 AM WBIW welcomes comments and suggestions by calling 812.277.1340 during normal business hours or by email at comments@wbiw.com
© Ad-Venture Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.