$2M courthouse construction to be finished by year's end

The nearly $2 million renovation and expansion of the city courthouse is scheduled to be finished by year’s end.

A ramp to again make the jail and sheriff’s office accessible to those with disabilities should be in place sooner, the architect said.

A fence around the construction zone at the Cumberland Street building currently blocks all handicap-accessible ramps leading to the city jail, sheriff’s office and magistrate’s office.

“We realized that [fence] had taken away the handicap access to the rear parking lot, the Lee Street parking lot and the front,” Sheriff Jack Weisenburger said Monday. “So we contacted the project manager and told him we desperately needed access off Cumberland Street. We realize it’s an issue.”

Deputies have carried at least one person who uses a wheelchair up the steps since the work began.

Architect and Project Manager R.L. Light said workers are making a temporary ramp to again provide access to the front entrance.

“It should be in place this week,” Light said.

The project includes a two-story addition on the building’s east side to accommodate a new Juvenile and Domestic Relations courtroom, an expanded records area, improved security and monitoring capabilities, remodeled upstairs courtrooms, improved public access to certain departments and a more efficient heating and air conditioning system.

“The outside work will be done as quickly as possible, which will give us good access to the building,” Light said. “We’ll try to work around the court dates to create as little interference as possible.”

Once complete, the public will be allowed to enter only through the front doors.

“There will be one designated public entrance with a security checkpoint, a magnetometer and package scanner, that will be manned by uniformed deputies,” Weisenburger said.

“Having the one secure entrance is the single most important element of the renovation to ensure a much higher level of security for the courthouse, its occupants and the public who has business there,” the sheriff said.

All entrances, courtrooms and other parts of the building also will be monitored with a digital video system; all exterior doors will be locked and connected to an alarm system. Only courthouse employees with key cards will be allowed to use other entrances.

The offices of judges and other court officials will be made more secure, and the Juvenile and Domestic Relations court clerk’s area will be moved to improve public access, Weisenburger said.

The first-floor offices of the commissioner of revenue and treasurer will not be affected.

“This was designed primarily to do the security upgrades and to address the workload of the Juvenile and Domestic Relations, General District and Circuit courts,” Weisenburger said. “Their dockets have all increased substantially.”

Circuit Court Clerk Terry Rohr said the criminal caseload in her office has “about doubled” in the last five years.

More office space and additional storage are planned for the Circuit Court, Rohr said.

“We’re not doing everything we need to do,” City Manager Bill Dennison said. “I’d love to get the treasurer and commissioner of revenue out of that building, but we don’t have any place to put them.”

The city is paying for the courthouse work through a bond issue the City Council approved last year. Courthouse security is a growing concern statewide, Dennison said.

“Had we not done it, the commonwealth would have ordered us to do the work,” Dennison said. “It’s a priority everywhere that has a security problem. Washington County just finished a massive renovation of their courthouse, and Smyth County is getting ready to undertake one.”

dmcgee@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2532