TEXARKANA -- Officials say they are moving ahead with plans to renovate and refurbish the 82-year-old Miller County Courthouse after frozen pipes ruptured and water flooded parts of the building during a February storm.
The county hired the Texarkana, Texas, company Contech Inc. to lead the repairs and renovations. Contech will hire subcontractors, said Miller County administrative assistant Carla Jenkins.
While the county's insurance will pay for restoring the courthouse to its pre-flood condition, remodeling areas of the building will need to be paid for with general funds or capital improvement funds, she said.
The county's Quorum Court will have to approve remodeling requests, which may cost the county about $254,000 overall, Jenkins said.
As for an overall cost, Jenkins said Contech's estimate is about $2.8 million.
Interior work on the first three floors, along with the basement, will be the primary task.
Although a start date has not been set, Jenkins said the goal is to have the courthouse back open and functioning for the public by the spring.
As for the courthouse's basement, which housed the prosecuting attorney's office, much of the floodwater stopped and collected there, prompting requests for some remodeling along with the restoration. Office officials estimated the remodeling costs to be about, $116,222, which the county will pay.
On the first floor, some lighter remodeling has been requested from the tax collector, tax assessor, treasurer and judges' offices.
The second floor's main courtroom will need to undergo restoration, mainly with less expensive plaster material replacement.
Work on the third floor will include restoring the smaller courtroom there as well as some of the judicial offices.