Current board says it will not approve
The Greene County Board of Commissioners announced Monday that proposed plans to move judicial services out of the county courthouse in downtown Greensboro and into a new 1.7-mile-away Judicial Center are dead.
A committee will be formed to evaluate the courthouse's space.
“The board has no plans to move forward with construction of the proposed judicial center facility,” a short press release issued Monday morning stated.
In recent weeks, it became clear that the five-member BOC did not have enough votes to support moving forward with the proposed $25 million building to be located at the county’s C. Weldon Smith campus.
The new building was designed to provide additional space and upgraded facilities for the clerk of the superior court, magistrate/ probate judges’ offices, district attorney, public defender, records storage, courtrooms, and other offices.
Downtown businesses were upset about the potential impact it would have on traffic. Some courthouse officials said there is plenty of room in the courthouse for future expansion, and other citizens argued the 175-year-old courthouse has significant historical value.
Commissioners Angela Deering (Dist. 1), Jeffery Smith (Dist. 2), and Dee Lindsey (Dist. 3) have expressed their concern about moving judicial services away from downtown.
In January, District 4 Commissioner Ernie Filice, an ardent supporter of the judicial center, will be replaced on the board by Mark Blanton, whose main campaign issue was saving the courthouse.
“I don’t think this board will go back and revisit it,” Commission Chairman Gary Usry told the Lake Oconee News following Tuesday’s regular board meeting. “I can’t speak for the next board.”
That could be a long time.
Blanton, Smith, and Usry begin new four-year terms in January, while Deering and Lindsey still have two years remaining on their current terms.
The board has never voted to proceed with the judicial center, although in March 2023, commissioners voted unanimously to approve the development of an architectural design for the building. The design plan was completed this summer at a cost of $1,099,000, which the county has already paid.
FOCUS ON COURTHOUSE
The board now focuses on solving a usage space problem in the courthouse.
At Tuesday’s BOC meeting, a “Courthouse Vacant Space Allocation” committee was established to evaluate the use of office space in the building.
That includes at least five offices on the third floor that have been unused since 2019.
According to a scope of work plan approved at Tuesday’s meeting, the goal is to determine various options “to utilize all space within the courthouse to satisfy the user’s needs to the greatest extent possible.”
The approved scope of the courthouse study and the board’s press release issued Monday clearly state that no plans are made to construct an addition to the courthouse or any new facility.
Also, no additional facility will be acquired. Courthouse supporters have argued that vacant downtown buildings could be a solution if expansion space is needed in the future.
Commissioners Deering and Lindsey will chair the committee. The committee's members will be announced at the next regularly scheduled BOC meeting on Sept. 10.