ASHLAND — Ashland County courthouse staff are looking forward to the upstairs courtroom reopening in the next couple weeks.
Ashland County Commissioner Jim Justice said the project should wrap up in two weeks, putting the $240,000 endeavor within a week or so of its initial 15-week schedule.
“It seems like we’ve been displaced forever,” said Tina Carpenter, the court’s administrator. “But it’s looking really nice.”
Carpenter has worked in the law library and from home as crews work to lay carpet in offices behind the courtroom.
Courtroom staff have held grand jury hearings in the county’s Job and Family Services building on Fourth Street since the project kicked off in May.
Commissioners hired Simonson Construction earlier this year to fix a bowed ceiling in the second-floor courtroom that was deemed unsafe for those sitting underneath.
The ceiling has been fixed, along with stripped of old asbestos insulation. But the project also included updating the 94 year-old courtroom’s paint, carpet and electric components.
Carpenter estimated the old carpet’s age. “It was at least 40 years-old.”
The chandeliers received new wiring and new LED bulbs. The floor received electric outlets, meaning there will not be wires running across the carpet. The walls received a fresh coat of paint, brightening the space.
The courtroom’s benches have been removed and stored. The heavy wooden structures will be moved back in once all the new electrical components are installed, said Kelson Batten, the county’s newly hired maintenance superintendent.
“There have been no surprises,” Batten said. “Everything is going pretty much as planned.”
Judge Dave Stimpert is happy with the progress so far. In early discussions, he said he expected the renovation to last through November.
“But it’s been going well,” he said.
The court’s next scheduled trial is slated for Aug. 26, but Carpenter doesn’t think the courtroom will be ready in time to have it there. That means the trial will likely be held at the JFS building.