Supervisors hear about courtroom remodeling

Plans to make major renovations to the second floor courtroom at the Wright County Courthouse are in the preliminary stages of development.

The board of supervisors talked last week with Andy Yackle, director of building and grounds, and Sonja Wilson and John Bloom of Slingshot Architecture in Des Moines.

This is not going to be done right away, Yackle explained. We will start saving money to pay for the project. His hope is for construction to begin sometime in the spring or summer of 2016.

The courthouse was built in the early 1890s for about $50,000 and was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1981. It has been renovated numerous times. A major remodel of the second floor courtroom was completed in the 1970s, according to Yackle.

Bloom explained the first proposal. The jury box would be on the south rather than the north side of the courtroom. A series of six-foot high walls would also be installed to keep the judge obscured from view as he enters. The judge would not be seen until he almost gets to the witness stand, Yackle explained. The public would enter through the main door on the west side of the room. County and state employees would have their own bathroom. Similar to the current courtroom, the holding room and conference room would be on the west side, opposite the judge's seat. There would be no third room (office) as there is now.

In the second proposal, the jury box would be on the south side rather than the north side. The judge would be completely out of sight until he reaches his seat. Rather than a conference and holding room on the west side, they would be on the south side of the courtroom next to the jury box. It allows for a little bit more seating than the first option because the room is aligned with the back entrance, Wilson said.

In the third option, the jury box is back on the north, with the conference and holding room on the west, opposite the judges seat, which is comparable to the current set up. There would be no third room, but a vestibule closed off by a six-foot wall would separate the two rooms.

In each of the proposals, the existing pews and the judges seat would be re-used, but the judges platform would be rebuilt. Also, each plan calls for a mezzanine overlooking the courtroom. The public would access the room on the third floor. According to Yackle, the room could be used in several ways and would hold around 40 people. It would be used if you need more seating, and would also be a great place to seat the media, he added.

The four windows on the east wall would be opened up after having been blocked for approximately 40 years. Wall, floor and ceiling repairs would be completed as needed.

A key to the whole project is making sure to follow the guidelines of the National Registry of Historic Places in order to qualify for grants and other funding. Yackle said he would be applying for a number of other grants and other options.

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Supervisors hear about courtroom remodeling