ASHLAND — If Ashland County interest earnings keep shattering expectations, commissioners said Thursday the boon could at least help fund a new courthouse.
Ashland County Treasurer Angie McQuillen presented interest earnings for this year’s first quarter reached $521,079.81 — a number that brought smiles to commissioners’ faces.
“Every time you come in here now with these nice dollar amounts, I’m just really impressed,” commissioner Denny Bittle said.
2024’s first quarter amount is on pace to overshadow all of last year’s earnings, which was a record-breaking $1.8 million.
Interest earnings go directly into the county’s general fund. So moneys can be used for anything from salaries to roads — or capital projects.
Bittle said commissioners typically set aside interest earnings for emergencies.
But “we gotta get a new courthouse,” Bittle said. “And that’s turned into an expensive project.”
Background
Commissioners have said a new courthouse, or administrative building, could cost the county between $4 million and $6 million.
Officials have considered moving departments with offices in the current courthouse to another location. Those offices include the treasurer’s, auditor’s, tax map and recorder’s.
At one point, the commissioners thought the vacant 44,000 square-foot Pump House building on the corner of Orange Road and Fourth Street could be the answer.
Commissioners eventually discovered the plan wouldn’t be financially feasible, public records revealed in an Ashland Source investigation. Home 2 Suites by Hilton is now looking to renovate the site to make room for a 94-room hotel.
In March 2023, commissioners bought a house on Church Street. The tentative plan was to tear it down and build a new office building. It’s unclear if that site is still being considered, because commissioners said they are looking at two properties currently. They declined to identify them.
In the meantime, the common pleas courtroom is under construction for up to 15 weeks. The work means court proceedings will happen at a conference room in the Ashland County Department of Job and Family Services.
There are no new capital projects planned for this year, even though commissioners set aside $1 million in the 2024 budget. But the groundwork for this particular project has already started.
The county hired VSWC Architects in March to put together a conceptual design for either a courthouse or administrative building.
“We’re just getting some feedback now,” he said. “We’re looking at a new court facility. It’s just one of the things down the road.”
As plans begin to take shape, officials remain hopeful that interest earnings continue to stay high. Higher rates mean higher returns for county coffers, Bittle said.
“We’ll keep our fingers crossed,” McQuillen said.