(Spirit Lake)– More than 50 people attended an informational meeting Wednesday evening in Spirit Lake regarding the latest proposal being put to the voters for a new Dickinson county courthouse.
The 14.9 million dollar project would consist of a new building on the existing site. It would be built in two phases to prevent temporary relocation costs.
The proposal has all county offices, including County Attorney, Engineering, Planning and Zoning, Assessor and Department of Human Services under one roof…along with all other county offices. It also includes a new Sheriff’s Office and jail with 34 to 35 beds…nearly double the current capacity. The tower of the 1891 building would be replicated and included in a plaza area northeast of the new building.
Assistant County Attorney Lonnie Saunders was among those who spoke at Wednesday’s meeting. He’s concerned the State Fire Marshall, which has written up the current courthouse for fire code violations, may get restless if the latest proposal isn’t approved. Saunders also expressed concern over increased liability the old building is causing the county.
Al Oberlander, an architect with R-D-G of Des Moines, says his recommendation to go with all-new construction is based on a study his office did for a rennovation project the state of Iowa was looking at. He says it simply isn’t feasible to rennovate a building such as the Dickinson county courthouse because it’s so far beyond repair.
Supervisor Paul Johnson, who’s been spearheading the courthouse project, says this proposal has the backing of ALL the supervisors…compared to previous ones that did not.
Dickinson county voters will head to the polls September 30th to decide the fate of the latest courthouse bond issue proposal.
