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Commissioners, judge and landlord discuss lease, security and a year-long hold on court-office moves
Summary
The county and a landlord/tenant judge discussed a proposed one-year lease with six months' notice for district court office space while the county schedules a courthouse structural evaluation and security review; commissioners proposed a year term with six-month notice, $500 monthly rent plus utilities, and outreach to neighboring counties about cost sharing for centralized district court space.
Daniels County commissioners and a landlord representing the district court met April 21 to discuss proposed changes to the courthouse lease and the practicalities of consolidating district court offices.
The judge and county discussed maintaining court operations in place while the county schedules structural and security reviews. The landlord proposed a year-long lease with a six-month termination notice and a monthly rent of $500 plus the county's MDU utility bill. Commissioners agreed to a one-year term with six months' notice to give court staff and officials time to plan and to avoid winter moving.
Commissioners also discussed possible multi-county cost-sharing for a centralized district-court hub so that judge travel and facility costs could be distributed among counties served. The county will contact neighboring counties to explore whether partial cost-sharing is feasible for courthouse improvements or centralized space.
The county scheduled a security walkthrough with court security staff and said a structural inspection of the courthouse is imminent (engineer visit scheduled April 29) to inform longer-term decisions about space, security and potential reconfiguration.
Next steps: county attorney and staff will draft an amended lease for the judge and analyze utility/insurance costs; county will also contact neighboring counties about possible cost-sharing for a centralized district-court hub.
