Funding received for Jackson County Courthouse repairs

JACKSON CO., Ala. (WAFF) - The Jackson County Courthouse will soon get some much-needed repairs.

The state is sending hundreds of thousands of dollars to help fix long-standing issues. The Jackson County courthouse was built in 1912. Additions were added in 1954 and 1968.

Over the years, the North West corner of the courthouse has been settling and has caused some ongoing issues, according to District II Commissioner Jason Venable.

“In the upstairs courtroom, there was a crack in the floor when I first became commissioner in 2012, and since then, the crack has grown, and the evidence in the brick and basement floor has shown up,” said Venable.

Engineering estimates it will cost around $1 million to make repairs to the building. Venable says $500,000 is coming from the state. The county will pay for the rest.

Which he said is important in keeping residents safe.

“Our courthouse business just in the downstairs’ business between the probate judge, appraisal, tags and real estate we see at least 800 people a day. So we don’t need to lose any portion of the courthouse to be safe to have offices in because we are already crowded. The bathroom where we are standing is very useful when we have events on the square, but we had to shut them down due to safety,” said Venable.

Next, Commissioner Venable said the commission; will decide where the remaining funds will come from as they prepare to open up bidding.

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