No state money for Gadsden County courthouse

April 23, 2009
By: Steffany Bennett
Your Capitol Bureau

The new Gadsden County Courthouse annex still needs phone lines and a judge to be fully up and running. But there is no money available right now to install phone lines or hire a judge, said Spencer Bowen, facilities manager.

We are open to grants, but there are none to apply for right now, said Community Development Director Farnita Saunders.

Because the state is strapped for cash, the Legislature did not accept requests for funding from small-county courthouses for 2009-2010.

Gadsden County also needs money for restoration in the main courthouse. The Gadsden County main courthouse was built in 1912 and is a part of the Quincy Historic District as listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places, the district was added to the registry in 1978.

“It has the original furniture from the time it was built and the same carpet from the 1960s,” said Muriel Straughn, Gadsden County’s deputy clerk of courts.

Completion of the courthouse annex and main courthouse renovations are in the county’s Capital Improvement Plan. “The Capital Improvement Plan is a part of our budget that is dedicated to the renovation and construction of buildings and the purchase of equipment,” said Bud Parmer, interim county manager. In the plan are many things the county needs money for.

“The fact that the courthouse is a historical place is a big plus,” said Parmer, because some years the county can receive state grants for the renovation of the courthouse as a result of it being a historical landmark. 

If Gadsden County does not get the money it needs for the courthouse annex and main courthouse, “we will continue to limp along,” Straughn said.