Wayne County’s historic courthouse had its exterior repaired and restored in a project that took more than a year.
With that project completed, the sloped, brick plaza outside the courthouse’s east entrance, which is not Americans with Disabilities Act compliant, will receive attention. Plans include replacing the bricks with stairs and installing an ADA-compliant ramp approaching the entrance from the south.
Kevin McCurdy of LWC Inc. reviewed the plans with Wayne County’s commissioners during their Oct. 9 meeting. LWC is completing documents to let for bid that project and an elevator project inside the 1890s courthouse.
When construction begins next spring, the courthouse’s south entrance will be used with a temporary ramp, according to LWC’s plans.
An arborist conducted a tree survey that identified 12 healthy trees, two trees needing removal and the remaining trees with a variety of life remaining. Removing the two trees will be included in the bidding with decisions about other trees delayed.
McCurdy also discussed lighting and landscaping around the courthouse and administration building campus. Currently a hodgepodge of styles, both issues can be addressed in phases.
The landscaping proposal includes more rock and low-growth plants with easier maintenance. The low plants would not provide cover for someone to hide behind them. Plans also call for removal of the brick walkway that cuts diagonally from the administration building to the corner of Fifth and Main streets.
Inside, commissioners favor installing a new elevator that serves the courthouse’s three main floors, then refurbishing the current elevator that also serves the basement and attic. The new elevator would be on the south side directly across from the current elevator.
That would require relocating a memorial to war veterans located outside the Superior Court 3 office on the second floor. McCurdy recommended it be put on the south staircase landing between the second and third floors, saying it had plenty of room and lighting to highlight the memorial.
Equipment purchases
Mike Sharp, the county’s highway superintendent, received commissioner permission to purchase a John Deere 544L loader.
The used loader is available at A-1 Equipment on Randolph County Line Road for $159,500. Minus a $12,000 trade for a 1984 loader, the cost is $147,500.
Sharp said he had $229,000 remaining in his 2024 equipment budget, so he moved the 2025 purchase up to free money for next year’s purchases.
Sheriff Randy Retter recently won an online auction to purchase a mobile command unit from the Carmel Police Department.
With the $121,500 bid and a buyer’s premium, the total cost was $136,687.50. Retter had received permission to bid, but funding sources had not been finalized. Commissioners agreed to commit $40,500 from opioid settlement money to help pay for the unit.
The proposal is that the bid amount —$121,500 — be split evenly among the opioid money, the sheriff’s general fund budget line items and the sheriff’s commissary funds. The premium cost would also come from commissary funds.
A version of this article appeared in the October 16 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.