Courthouse, jail renovations to begin in Morgan County

Over the next 18 months, Morgan County will complete $12 million in renovations to its county courthouse and $7 million in improvements to its jail.

The jail work has already begun, and the courthouse work will begin in the next two weeks, County Commission Chairman Ray Long said.

In the courthouse, Carmon Construction of Albertville and JMR+H architects out of Montgomery will be improving security and making other improvements, Long said.

“At the courthouse we are putting in waiting rooms and (handicap-accessible) restrooms and completely changing out the heating and cooling units,” Long said, explaining that the HVAC units have aged out. “These are old. They are just worn out. They have been here since the ’70s when the building was built.” At the jail, Standard Roofing and Whorton Engineering are replacing the roof and the heating and cooling system, he said. “I’ll be glad when it’s finished,” said Long, who is slightly concerned about the logistics of keeping the courthouse open while at the same time renovating it.

“It’s hard to do a renovation and keep it open like this,” said superintendent James Howard of Carmon Construction. “We will be doing a lot of night and weekend work when it’s not being used but we will also be working during the week when it is being used.” Howard said work will start on the north side of the courthouse first.

“Once we shut that down, you will have to use the front entrance only,” Howard said. “When we get that one done, we will move to the front one and you will have to use the back entrance.” When work is finished, there will be separate entrances for employees and residents as well as better security overall, Long said.

“So, there is going to be a lot of activity here for the next 18 months,” Long said.

“We hope it’s done quicker than 18 months, but we can’t say for sure,” Howard said.

Contractors will also change out some bad floor tiles on the third floor and wherever else they are needed. Some of the thirdfloor tiles were replaced at some point and the patch is obvious.

Long said the county had hoped to change out the ceiling tiles and lighting throughout the courthouse but it was going to cost $2 million more so they declined.

On the north side of the courthouse, plans are to enclose the balcony to serve as a courtroom waiting room and restrooms. Below that, on the second floor, the back wall will be moved outward toward the courtyard and security will move back with it. Contractors will do the same thing on the front of the courthouse by moving the firstfloor lobby wall – or as contactors call it the storefront wall – outward toward the parking lot.

The county is paying for the $12 million in renovations with an $11 million grant from the American Rescue Plan Act, funds that came about due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

The money must be spent by Dec. 31, 2026, Long said.

Plans include adding restrooms on the second and third floors that meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Currently, only the first-floor restrooms meet the ADA standard, Long said. The courthouse has five floors and a basement, with courtrooms on the third and fourth floors.

“Then we will have to change the bathrooms on the fourth and fifth floors,” Long said.

Waiting rooms will be added on floors two and three on the north side, Long said. This will be accomplished by extending the walls out past the balconies and enclosing them. As it stands, there are places in the courthouse where people have to congregate in the hallways to wait for court or to do other business. Although there are already some waiting rooms available, the new waiting rooms will improve the situation.

Long said the need for waiting room space became clear during the COVID epidemic.

“We’ve been needing waiting rooms for a while,” Long said. “Especially during COVID, we only let a few line up buying tags, the rest had to take a number or give them their phone number and wait in their cars. If we ever have that situation again, we are going to have waiting rooms for them to go and spread out.” The waiting rooms should cut down on the noise in the hallways as well.

“Sometimes people come to court and they have to bring their kids,” Long said. “Some people don’t have babysitters or someone to watch them so they have to bring them.”