John T. Alexander, Barren Circuit Judge, speaks during a court hearing at the Barren County Courthouse in early 2021. He’s also a member of the project development board charged with overseeing the construction of a new judicial center in Barren County.
(BRENNAN CRAIN/WCLU NEWS)
GLASGOW — A project development board devised to oversee the construction of a new judicial center in Barren County clarified during a regular meeting Wednesday why most of its business has been behind closed doors.
Recent meetings have been closed to the public and media. Certain Kentucky laws permit a public agency to handle some of its business in a closed session such as deliberations regarding property acquisition, which the board continues to do.
“You have a closed session exception for those things because you don’t want people to be able to manipulate the cost of the property that you’re trying to get or things to happen that are adverse to your efforts to try to acquire the property,” said board member and Circuit Judge, John T. Alexander.
The judge said the board should handle most business in an open fashion after property deliberations end.
Accessibility, ability to acquire and compatibility have been among the board’s priorities during their property considerations, Alexander said. The board ranked eight sites at previous meetings, and they’ve chosen to consider those sites based upon a priority ranking.
The board voted Wednesday to approach the owners of a certain property they identified as “site option six.”
“We have not really gotten to the point of making any offers to anybody about anything, but we are at that point now where we want to talk to the owners of this particular piece of property,” Alexander said. “And we think we’re in a position where we are going to try to make an offer to them.”
The judicial center will house all local judicial operations including court hearings, judicial offices and the circuit court clerk’s office. The Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts oversees projects like these across the commonwealth. The state legislature approved nearly $32 million to be allocated from the state’s general fund toward the project. The financing is not derived from local funds.
Surveys completed statewide demonstrated Barren County’s court facilities were outdated and a new judicial center was needed, elected officials said. Local government continues to affirm the current courthouse in Barren County will not be destroyed after the courts no longer inhabit it.
The project is still on track to be finished sometime in late 2023 or early 2024.
The judicial center endeavor is one of two major ongoing projects pertaining to development interests near Glasgow’s downtown area. A park has been proposed to be built adjacent to the post office location along West Main Street. The judge did not mention any projects by name but alluded to the competition the board faces.
“It’s good to have other things going on so that we’re not the only thing going,” Alexander said.
The board meets again March 30.
