The facade of the Barren County Courthouse stands amid a search for a site to eventually construct a judicial center in Barren County.
(WCLU NEWS FILE PHOTO)
GLASGOW — A local board plans to seek three appraisals of properties near downtown as they continue their search for a space to construct a new judicial center.
The Barren County Judicial Center Project Development Board voted unanimously Wednesday afternoon to seek the appraisals. Two of the properties are within the immediate limits of the Square. The other is nearby but away from the area.
“Some of those consist of more than one partial but three locations,” said John T. Alexander, circuit judge and PDB voting member.
The board expanded its search to include other spaces near downtown. They started with four primary properties. But some potential properties could include more work than others, which would increase the board’s cost. That explains the expansion of other their search, Alexander said.
“There were some challenges to some sites that we as non-professional builders and site designers and building designers – we didn’t have any idea,” he said.
Kentucky lawmakers allotted several million dollars for the construction and development of judicial centers across the state. Barren County was allotted $32 million from the state’s General Fund. The dollars cannot be used for other projects and was not derived from local funding.
The Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts is serving as an advisor to the local board throughout the project. Certain stipulations and protocol exist for the board to follow – seeking appraisals before a formal offer on property is made is one of them.
“We have to get something appraised before we can really get serious about it,” Alexander said.
Demolition, site acquisition and preparation are grouped together within the board’s budget. Though the board has not issued a formal offer to any property owner, casual conversations have revealed higher prices and expectations from some of the various sites’ owners.
The disclosure of the potential sites has not been disclosed but speculations exist surrounding the varying possibilities. Certain churches near downtown, a multi-story office building and a large bank are among the potential sites, according to sources familiar with the search.
Site acquisition procedures are often conducted in closed sessions due to the private nature of prices and the group’s expectations. The PDB meetings are conducted in closed session, but members are hopeful the meetings will be held before the public once a site is purchased.
The project continues to remain on schedule. Officials hope to complete the project by late 2023 or early 2024. All judicial business will move from the current courthouse to the center. The current courthouse will not be demolished but rather repurposed. Officials have speculated the current courthouse might house other county offices after the switch.
“The idea is that we’re looking at building something that hopefully will last decades and decades and decades,” Alexander said. “If it takes a few months to get the right place, it’s going to pay off for the people that come after us.”
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