Commissioners approve downtown courthouse renovation plan; Jefferson Street to close for about four weeks

County commissioners and project representatives presented a phased plan to renovate the historic courthouse and rework downtown parking and traffic; commissioners approved the preferred plan and discussed schedules, construction impacts and business-mitigation options.

Commissioner Collier introduced the courthouse renovation project, noting the new judicial campus opening July 2 and that courthouse staff will begin moving to the new campus in mid-July. Josh Mesmer, a project representative, described a phased construction plan: a Phase 0 water tap in June to avoid a full road closure later; Phase 1 would fully close Jefferson Street for roughly four weeks starting in mid-July to mid-August; Phase 2 would address perimeter streets (Morgan, Main and Washington) with staged lane and sidewalk access to keep traffic moving; the project team targeted a turnover of the perimeter streets and newly reworked sidewalks before Thanksgiving 2025. The final west-side work (Phase 4) is scheduled for completion and turnover in fall 2026.

Project presenters said the Phase 1 closure would allow contractors to keep a sidewalk open on the east side of Jefferson Street so pedestrians can reach businesses; they said the contractor had discussed weekend and Saturday work and that the contract contains no liquidated-damage incentive for early completion. Gary (city engineer) questioned whether incentives existed; project staff replied there were none contractually. Presenters said they had done door-to-door outreach and held two public meetings to inform downtown businesses and residents.

Commissioners discussed impacts on downtown events such as the Fall Folies and small-business activities during the holiday period. One commissioner asked whether the county could compensate downtown merchants for disruptions (for example, through tax credits); staff said they had not legislated such measures and no compensation plan was adopted. A project representative said the plan includes 67 diagonal parking spaces after rework and that during construction many perimeter parking spaces (42) would remain open; after turnover the courtyard area would have 63 spaces plus additional new spaces, with 46 spaces at Courthouse Square as presented.

After discussion, a council member moved to accept the preferred plan for downtown parking and traffic and another member seconded; the motion carried. Commissioners asked staff and the contractor to prioritize turnover of the reworked streets before Thanksgiving 2025 and to work weekends as allowed under noise ordinances to meet the schedule when weather permits.