Mold pushing tenant out of old courthouse

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Mold pushing tenant out of old courthouse

County

By Todd DeFeo | todd.defeo@...

http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/031106/news_20060311045.shtml

10:54 PM on Friday, March 10, 2006

Athens,GA

The historic courthouse in downtown Jefferson is about to lose its

only tenant because of a mold problem in the building.

The edifice, which overlooks Jefferson's town square, hasn't been

used as a courthouse since a newer facility opened on the edge of

town in 2004.

But a mold infestation is pushing the county's voter registration

office, the only department that now occupies the building, down the

street to the County Administration Complex, located on Athens

Street in downtown Jefferson. The move - contingent on approval from

the U.S. Department of Justice - should be complete by the middle of

this month.

" We had to get them out of the building, " County Commission

Chairwoman Pat Bell said. " We won't be able to allow anyone back in

the building until we can get the mold under control. "

Last October, the County Commission received a $12,000 grant

from the Historic Preservation Division of the state Department of

Natural Resources to study the condition of the courthouse and the

cost to restore the 1879 building. The county will contribute $8,000

to complete the $20,000 study.

County officials hoped to receive a $520,000 U.S. Department of

Transportation grant that could help pay for the refurbishment, but

wasn't awarded that funding.

" We're going to have to try again on that one, " Bell said. There are

other potential grants for which the county could apply; " we're just

going to have to run them down and apply for them, " she said.

When the courthouse is renovated, officials plan to lease the

building to the Area Chamber of Commerce, which currently

has an office in the city of Commerce. The historic structure might

also house the county's historical society.

Until the modern 124,000-square-foot courthouse opened in August

2004, the 16,000-square-foot historic County courthouse was

one of the oldest still in active use in Georgia. County officials

estimate refurbishing the 1870s structure easily would cost more

than $1 million but expect to be able to give a more accurate number

after completing a thorough study of the structure.

" The longer you leave a building empty, the more it deteriorates, "

Bell said.

Restoring the courthouse to a workable condition might not cost

an " arm and a leg, " Bell said. " To put it back like it was, that's a

different matter. "

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 031106