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Elkhart County approves $1 million interlocal funding agreement with City of Elkhart for courthouse demolition after courts move
Summary
On June 9, 2025 the Elkhart County Commissioners approved a resolution to transfer the Elkhart Courthouse property to the City of Elkhart and provide $1,000,000 to assist the city with demolition, contingent on a 12-month bidding timeline after deed transfer; the county will assert no post-transfer liability.
Elkhart County Commissioners on June 9 approved a resolution authorizing an interlocal transfer and funding agreement with the City of Elkhart that will move the county-owned Elkhart Courthouse property to city ownership and provide $1,000,000 toward demolition and revitalization efforts.
County Attorney Steve Olson, who presented the resolution, said the transfer and payment are contingent on the county’s move into a new courts complex and on the deed transfer date. "This, of course, applies after transition, into the new courts complex when it's no longer being utilized as a courts building," Olson said. He added that the 12-month demolition bidding period is measured from the deed date and not from the date of the county's approval.
The resolution recognizes that Elkhart County "no longer has a specific purpose for the Elkhart Courthouse and desires to see the space utilized for the maximum benefit of Elkhart County," Olson said. He described the intended sequence: once county operations and records move to the new courts complex, the county will transfer the Elkhart Courthouse property to the city "in its as is condition"; the city would then be responsible for demolition and revitalization and for any liability arising after transfer.
Under the agreement described in the presentation, the county will contribute $1,000,000 to the City of Elkhart to enable the city "to enter into an agreement for demolition within 12 months of Elkhart County transferring the Elkhart Courthouse in its as is condition to the city of Elkhart." Olson said funding is contingent on the city bidding demolition within that 12-month window and that the interlocal agreement is written to ensure the county has no liability or exposure after transfer.
Olson told commissioners the City of Elkhart and Elkhart County will each adopt substantially identical resolutions; he said he would present the same resolution to the Elkhart County Council on June 19, 2025. The commissioners voted to approve the resolution; the motion carried unanimously.
The resolution and the underlying interlocal transfer and funding agreement take effect only after the county completes its transition to the new courts complex and the deed to the Elkhart Courthouse property is transferred to the city. The agreement requires the city to bid demolition within 12 months of that transfer and assigns responsibility for demolition and related matters to the City of Elkhart following transfer.
