A Pike County Courthouse Restoration SPLOST Project Meeting was held in the Courthouse Annex Meeting Room (Commission Meeting Room) located at 79 Jackson Street in Zebulon on Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 2:00 p.m.

Approval/denial/discussion of exterior/interior issues for SPLOST Courthouse Renovation Project is on the agenda. The public is invited to attend.

Agenda subject to revision. NOTE: Please be advised there exists the possibility that a quorum of the Pike County Board of Commissioners may be in attendance at this meeting.

Update 6.9.11

All five commissioners and the County Manager were there yesterday as Ben Carter took some time out of his busy day to discuss the roof of the addition of the Courthouse. Many from the SPLOST Committee were there and so was Judge Mack Crawford.

There were two choices for the roof of the addition. A flat roof would have enabled the view of the back of the gable of the courthouse because the addition with the flat roof would have been lower than the rest of roof and the second was a continuation of the current roof design with a sloped roof.

Discussion on whether to repaint the courthouse or clean and seal the brick was next on the list. It would cost an additional $150,000 or more to clean and seal the brick so Mr. Carter said that it would probably be better to just repaint the entire courthouse.

He advised the commissioners that his company bid out the Wilkes County Courthouse about a month ago and prices came in much higher than expected. He said that the Senior Center in Jones County that his company is working on is going to cost $150 per square foot compared to the price of $95 per square foot that an identical Senior Center cost in late 2009. "There was more site work but it still came in more than expected," said Ben Carter. He said that the new immigration law is effecting labor in the state of Georgia as well as fuel costs and lack of competition--from companies going bankrupt and out of business. Prices are now going up where they have been going down since 2006-2007.

The original courthouse is 11,000 square feet. "I originally budgeted $95 per square foot but now I'm thinking about $125," he said. That puts the new budgeted amount around $1,375,000 with the 30 foot addition (5,600 square feet at $150 per square foot) is estimated to cost around $840,000. Total estimated cost is $2,215,000 plus $10 per square foot for furniture--$160,000--and the addition of architectural fees bringing the total estimated price of the project to around $2.4 or $2.5 million dollars. He said that this does not include the cost of relocation but that the firm has been talking about building the addition first and moving the people in the courthouse into the addition during the renovation of the rest of the building to avoid a total relocation of everyone in the courthouse.

Discussed 20 foot versus 30 foot and said that there was a focus on safety, accessible and function of the courts and the administrative offices. Said that with requirements that the county has, "We needed the space--we just did not have enough room." Said that there needed to be criminal access to both courtrooms without going through public corridors and needed a jury assembly room for roughly 120 people. This drove the square footage of the 2nd floor up to 30 square feet and enabled the 1st floor to be expanded to include the Voter Registrar.

"If it does come in over budget, we have to revisit the plan or revisit the bidders--is the the proper procedure?" asked Commissioner Don Collins. This was confirmed. He then said that since the BOC knows its budget, "It is to the advantage of the taxpayers to get as much square footage as we can for the amount of money that we've got."

Griffin Circuit Superior Court Judge Mack Crawford was then asked about the project. He said that he didn't care whether it was a 20 foot or a 30 foot addition as long as the addition hold jurors and everyone is able to hear in a courtroom full of people. He did express concern that there be a Jury Assembly Room that can hold 120 people and said that this room will help take people out of the courtroom and take pressure off of the seating arrangements. The difference between hearing in an empty room versus a full room is a problem that has to be addressed. Ben Carter said that the problem of being able to hear will be addressed.

In a show of consensus, the Commissioners chose to go with a sloped over flat due to the problems that can sometimes develop with flat roofs. 20 foot versus 30 foot was not addressed since it has already been approved in a prior meeting.

Members of the SPLOST Committee were allowed to speak at the end of the meeting. Merritt Spier said that the historic courthouse in Talbot County had the same problem with sound that we do and they fixed their problem. He said that the commissioners have pictures of that courtroom. Tommy Burnsed said that he just voted for renovation and not for expansion. He said that he feels the commissioners are doing things that the citizens didn't vote for. Said that he feels like the county ought to get the old paint off of the building and seal the bricks.

Below are the PDF files of the referendum from the Pike Journal Reporter, the Courthouse Plan, and view of the sloped roof that commissioners decided to go with for the 30 foot addition on the courthouse.

Courthouse Referendum

Courthouse Floor Plan

Courthouse Roof Plan Views 1 and 2

Courthouse Roof Plan Views 3 and 4