PITTSBORO — At a work session on Monday, the Chatham County Board of Commissioners provided direction to county staff to include a superior courtroom on the second floor as the Historic Courthouse is rebuilt.
“We did not act on the entire report from the Historic Courthouse Task Force yet, but we needed to make a decision so that the rebuilding process for the Historic Courthouse can continue,†said commission chair Sally Kost.
The commissioners agreed with the task force’s recommendation that the courthouse should again have a superior courtroom on the second floor and that it should look similar to how it did before the fire.
“We will upgrade the courtroom’s technology, sound and lighting and will ask the architect to look at options to make the space more flexible so that the room could potentially be used for other public functions,†Kost said.
Based on cost estimates provided by Clancy and Theys Construction Company, Chatham County would save 50 percent if construction of the Judicial Center included completion of the second floor during construction, as opposed to waiting several years to complete the space that was previously scheduled to be completed at a later time. The company estimates the cost of finishing the entire building now would be less than $1 million, while finishing the space in five years would cost more than $1.5 million.
“Since it is a substantial savings to complete the building now as opposed to waiting several years, and court officials documented a need for additional court space, it makes good financial sense to finish the shell space that had been planned for future needs,†said Kost.
Chief District Court Judge Joseph Buckner told the commissioners that having space for Superior Court in both the rebuilt Historic Courthouse and the new Judicial Center would address the backlog issues that crop up when a case drags out for many weeks. “I also expect us to use the courtroom in the Historic Courthouse for Superior Court civil cases, so it would be used regularly, even with space for Superior Court in the new Judicial Center.â€
The commissioners discussed various potential facilities for the first floor, including restrooms, a historical museum and a visitors’ center, but did not make any decisions at this meeting.