County staff ask about courthouse move, mold and return-to-work extension; commissioners say HR paperwork required

A Meriwether County employee asked commissioners at the Feb. 18 special-call meeting for an update on the county courthouse move, timetable for new courtroom occupancy and whether furniture with mold would be reused. County staff said utilities are being transferred and probate operations are scheduled to move first once Internet service is established; magistrate court would follow.

The employee raised health concerns about mold and asked whether furniture with mold would be moved into the new space. A county staff member replied that some desks and cabinets still have defects and that purchases from the state are pending. “There’s numerous desks and cabinets and all that still have defects I’m waiting to purchase from the state,” the staff member said.

On the question of when employees should return to the courthouse, county staff said Internet service was scheduled to be installed by the end of the month and that some offices would move as soon as Internet and utilities were in place. The staff member told the employee that the county was anticipating a 10-to-30 day range for completing moves and that individual return-to-work timing should be coordinated with Human Resources. The employee said she had been medically affected and asked whether she should submit paperwork to request an extension.

County staff and commissioners said the employee should fill out HR paperwork to request a 60-day extension; the transcript shows staff advising the employee to submit the request by the upcoming Friday for consideration at the board’s regular Tuesday meeting. “This Friday we get the paperwork in. And then we have a board meeting on Tuesday, so it’ll be brought to the commissioners on Tuesday for their consideration,” a county staff member said. The staff member added that an extension request would require board action and that the item had been discussed in executive session.

What was decided: the meeting transcript records staff direction to the employee to submit the HR paperwork; it does not record a board vote granting or denying an extension at this meeting. The staff member said the county could not approve an extension without the employee completing required forms and that the board would consider the request at the next regular meeting.

Additional context: staff said probate would be the first office to move once Internet is available and that power and water were being transferred to the county’s name; staff estimated Internet installation by the end of the month but did not give a specific date. The county advised employees to coordinate return-to-work dates with HR and to submit required forms promptly if they seek temporary extensions.