Griggs County voters likely will decide in August whether to approve a proposed $4.7 million addition and renovation project at the historic Griggs County Courthouse.
The Griggs County Commission will hold at least three public meetings, beginning in June, for residents to see and hear about the plans from project architects and county officials.
Built in Cooperstown, N.D., in 1884, the building it is the oldest courthouse in North Dakota still operating as a government office. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Problems with mold in its lower level had put its future in jeopardy. Two county offices -- sheriff and social services -- were relocated this past fall from the basement to temporary, portable buildings on the courthouse grounds, just south of the building.
Originally, the commission was considering one of three options: build a new courthouse; build an addition; or just renovate the existing historic building.
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"We cut about $2 million from the project," Griggs County Commission Chairwoman Diane Cowdrey said. "What we're going to end up doing is renovating the existing building and build a small addition to the south of the building."
But the commission needs voter approval for the proposed bond issue.
While plans are tentative, the addition would house the sheriff's department
Historic preservationists from the state of North Dakota have inspected the building and determined that it is structurally sound.
"They told us that if we get it renovated correctly, it could last another 100 years," Cowdrey said.
Meanwhile the Traill County Commission expects to sign contracts next week on a $270,000 energy improvement and reroofing project at its courthouse annex.
The building houses the county jail, sheriff's department and emergency dispatch center, as well as social services department and water resource board.
The project includes new windows, roofing, siding and insulation, as well as some asbestos removal, according to County Auditor Becca Braaten.
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County officials at one time hoped to build a new courthouse addition, to replace the annex that was built in the 1950s. Besides not meeting present-day building codes, the building posed security issues, according to commissioners.
However, voters rejected three separate bond issues on a new building, the last time in 2010.
