Commissioners Oppose Courthouse Register Listing

The Pottowattomie County Commission made its voice heard Monday, as it voted unanimously against listing the Old County Courthouse on the National Register of Historic Places.

Those properties listed on this Register may qualify for state tax credits and the Heritage Trust Fund grant program.

Consideration of the courthouse’s nomination to the National Register will be held at 9 AM Saturday in the Kansas Museum of Natural History by the Kansas Historic Sites Board of Review.

The debate over the preservation of the building began in July, after a study concluded that replacing the structure with a new consolidated office building would serve as the most cost-effective way of meeting the county’s long-range facility storage needs.

At that time, County Public Works Director Peter Clark spoke with KMAN and said Clint Hibbs of BG Consultants shared a completed financial study on the options of razing the courthouse verse restoration. The study says restoring the courthouse to modern code and standards would cost the county $3.6 million over 20 years.

A new building, however, would cost $2.6 million over the same span — including destruction of the current courthouse.

Still, Clark said many citizens want to see the existing courthouse stay.

“There appears to be a large sentiment, from at least the 100 people who were there, that they would like to see the courthouse remain,” he said. “There has not been identified a funding source hasn’t been identified to assist us with preserving the courthouse, or conserving it in its current condition. I think that would go a long ways in helping making a decision one way or the other.”

Clark said space is an issue and that future growth — Pottawatomie County already being the fastest-growing county in the state — puts even more pressure on the issue.

Some citizens said they wanted to put the decision up to a vote, Clark said, but added a vote might not be binding to whatever direction the county commission goes.