Cass County authorizes application for $200,000 court facility improvement grant
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Summary
The board authorized staff to apply for a $200,000 court facility improvement grant to retroactively defray costs of a recently completed courtroom; presenters said Judge Webb recommended the request and a state senator encouraged the county to apply.
Mr. Wilson asked the Cass County Board to authorize an application for a court facility improvement grant to help cover costs Cass County incurred building a new courtroom above the current facilities. He said the $200,000 line item emerged during the 2025 legislative process and that the recommendation came from Judge Webb and county association representatives.
"The recommendation... was a recommendation for Cass to apply for this $200,000 to retroactively support the costs that Cass County expended to construct that courtroom," Mr. Wilson said. He described the request as "out of the box" because it would be a retroactive application rather than a routine 75% project grant.
Mr. Wilson said he had an encouraging email from a state senator (transcribed variously) and confirmation of support from the Association of Counties' executive director, but he acknowledged there was no explicit reference to Cass County in the legislative text.
Commissioners asked whether other counties received judges and how clear legislative intent was; staff said there was no explicit mention of Cass County in the bill but that a senator had encouraged Cass to apply. The board voted to proceed with the application by roll call.
Why it matters: if awarded, grant funds would reimburse local costs tied to an expansion of court capacity. The application advances with board authorization but remains subject to the grants committee and awarding authority.