(Spirit Lake)– A proposal for a new Dickinson county courthouse bond issue continues to come together.
The board of supervisors voted four-to-one late Friday afternoon for the referendum to call for a new courthouse to be built on the existing site in downtown Spirit Lake.
Supervisor Chairman David Gottsche cast the lone no vote, saying the board should first convince the public that building on a new site wouldn’t be feasible.
Supervisor Wayne Northey says the heat will be on Spirit Lake to get the measure approved, otherwise he says the next proposal will probably call for a site other than downtown Spirit Lake.
The motion had all departments housed in the new courthouse with the exception of engineering and planning and zoning…who would stay in their current facility. The Assessor’s office, County Attorney and Department of Human Services are also to be included in the new facility.
The cost of the project and design and layout of the building wasn’t included in Friday’s motion.
The supervisors are now eyeing September 30th as the date for a possible bond issue referendum.
The supervisors directed architects to draw up more detailed plans and try to scale back somewhat on costs. They’ll meet in upcoming weeks with the county’s financial consultant and bonding attorney in determining a dollar amount to be included on the bond issue.
