The Escambia County (Ala.) Commission has some tough decisions ahead. Those decisions deal with trying to figure out what to do with a courthouse that was built in 1959 that is aging and has issues.
We attended Tuesday's administrative workshop and the news was scary. We go to the courthouse several times a week and we see the falling ceilings.
We were in the courthouse in December, 2015, when a heating pipe busted open and flooded much of the courthouse. That busted pipe may be a blessing in disguise because it helped reveal multiple problems with the old building.
The commission has some tough decisions to make. Does it simply repair the damage from the 2015 incident and do patchwork on other areas or does it jump out there with major renovations or possibly a new courthouse?
What we heard Tuesday from representatives of DAG Architects and from Chairman Raymond Wiggins, is something needs to be done. It's a matter of how much money the commission wants, or can afford, to spend.
DAG's estimate to completely renovate the courthouse to make it safe and American Disability Act compliant is about $10.2 million. To build a new 44,000 square feet courthouse the cost would increase to $13 million. That's a no brainer if the commission goes that route: build a new one.
The logistics around a total renovation and having to move departments out of the courthouse will be terrible.
There was discussion about doing a needs assessment from each office that will cost the county between $20,000 and $25,000. That study doesn't address the leaking issues at the courthouse.
Whichever direction the commission decides to go, it will be our tax dollars that flip the bill.
Tough decisions are ahead.
