Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Judge Reveals Plans For Courthouse

Fans of the Clark County Courthouse can relax.

Clark County Judge Grady Runyan has announced there are no plans to raze the structure. In fact, he said, it would be more economically viable for the county to find a way to restore and renovate the courthouse and go ahead with annexation plans as originally intended.

When the courthouse was heavily damaged by the March 1 tornadoes, Runyan initially said he would knock it down. But, he recanted, saying his original statement was nothing but a "smokescreen" to help raise money to get the structure renovated and restored.

He said the courthouse was put on the National Historic Register in 1978 and he knew it would be all but impossible to do anything with it. "I knew right off we weren't going to tear it down," he said, "so I laid a smokescreen to get money and help."

Before the tornadoes hit, the county had been working to get the necessary funding to renovate and restore the facility as part of the overall plan to add an annexation near the Clark County Sheriff's Office.

Runyan said he has wanted to restore the structure from the beginning, but didn't want to use taxpayer's money to do it.

Now, he said, the county has the money to begin work on repairing and restoring the courthouse. In fact, bids were opened Monday, May 12, to fix the windows and roof.

Getting the windows and roof repaired is the first step, he said. Next will come stabilizing the interior archways and ceilings.

As it stands, Runyan said the courthouse has been cleaned out, with its equipment moved to temporary offices on the west side in a parking lot.

The county has been renting space from the Department of Human Services to use as a temporary courtroom.

However, before final plans are made on what the county will do as far as moving back into the courthouse, Runyan said, it will wait and see what the city plans to do.

"We've discussed moving (the courthouse) to the end of Main Street by the river," he said. "We'll be open minded."

Runyan said one of the problems in building a new courthouse complex is finding and buying property.

"I'm not against leaving the old building," he said. "It's a piece of history and can't be replaced." However, Runyan said he doesn't want to put taxpayer's money in the old courthouse for repair work.

On the other hand, he said, the county has already paid out $112,000 in architects fees for an annexation. Should the county relocated, it would also lose the lowest bid from the contractors for the annexation and would be without a courthouse for at least two more years.

Then, he said, another $100,000 would have to be spent on architectural fees, the entire bid process would have to be repeated and land purchased. The cheapest property he's found is $64,000 and it's where the current modules for county offices are sitting.

"We can't build in the middle of the lot where the courthouse needs to be to be centered. We've got to have a courthouse," he said.

Runyan continued, saying all county offices were going to be moved to the annex once it was built. The remaining area, he said, could be used as rental property for offices, so long as the renter doesn't need a great deal of space, once the renovations are complete.

By renting office space, he said, the courthouse can help pay its own way for maintenance and repairs in the future.

Currently, he said, there are eight offices needing computers to be networked. In the old structure this wasn't possible because the walls were two-feet thick. Lines were all over the floor, creating a hazard for everyone.

In addition, the wiring in the old facility wouldn't meet today's codes for computer systems and other electrical needs.

"It's possible to do what we started out to do," he said, "and that's what's best for the people of Clark County -- annexation.

"If we move, we'll still restore the courthouse."

He said plans are to purchase two blocks near the river and straddle Main Street. Here, he added, it would be possible to build a court complex, or possibly a complex housing all city and county offices combined.

In the meantime, though, county officials will be working with the planning commission and listening to all ideas brought forth.

But, in the end, Runyan said the county needs to do what's best for the taxpayers.

This, he said, is because the county's finances will be affected by the March 1 tornadoes for the next several years.

Those who lost everything in the storm won't be paying property taxes next year, he said, because they have nothing to pay personal property tax on.

The government will be operating on a slim budget, he said. In addition, the legislature passed a law dropping the assessments back to 1994 values.

This, Runyan said, will further reduce the county's tax base and make fiscal responsibility even more important than it is now.