Randolph County Commissioners are preparing for an upcoming vote on a consolidation of two county courthouses. The commission’s plan is to merge all of the offices in both the Huntsville and Moberly Courthouses in a new structure that would be located in front of the Randolph County Justice Center.
Presiding Commissioner of Randolph County Susan Carter says that a main issue with both of the current courthouses is the lack of security.
“Today you have to be careful about separating your witnesses in a court case from your defendants in a court case from your jurors in a court case,” she says. “These buildings are not constructed for that kind of security.”
Carter says construction estimates are currently $4.7 million and that the commission will ask voters to approve a quarter of a cent sales tax increase on April 8.
She says that if passed, the tax would last for either 12 years or until the payment is fully paid off. If approved, Carter hopes that the construction will conclude by early 2016.