The Lauderdale County Courthouse

Determining a solution for the decaying Lauderdale County Courthouse could take until the end of the year, attendees of the monthly East Mississippi Business Development Corporation’s Council of Governments were told Monday at the Checker Board Restaurant.

“We’re not just buying a car, but we’re buying the whole manufacturer,” Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors President Josh Todd said. “We’ll make it public about what we’re going to do in the next three weeks … along with the purchase price.”

Supervisors received architect Belinda Stewart’s final renderings and study of the courthouse issue last week. Stewart was hired last year to provide various proposals for the courthouse, which included moving to other locations or renovating the existing, deteriorating and cramped facility, which was built in 1905.

Todd said the board will need to hire an architect when it decides what to do.

“All that data Ms. Stewart collected will be compiled into a footprint. Hopefully, by the end of the year we’ll know what direction we’re going,” Todd said.

Stewart delivered the final draft in a 66-page study, which cost the county about $75,000. The top five options range in price from $30 million to more than $46 million. Four scenarios from the study involve renovating the existing courthouse, while two center around the old Village Fair Mall site.

The top options include:

• Renovating the courthouse and Lamar Annex and the construction of a new addition. This option would cost $38.05 million.

• A second option, estimated to cost $38.6 million, involves a detached chancery addition built into existing building space and the relocation of the existing county jail.

• A third option, estimated to cost a total of $47.8 million ($31.3 million in public funds and about $16.5 million in private money), envisions the Lamar Annex being sold for private reuse, and construction of a two-story addition to other county-owned buildings. The jail would be relocated.

• The fourth option is similar to the third scenario except the federal courthouse building would be used. The estimated cost is $44.87 million, with the county investing $28.37 million in renovation, restoration, and new construction at its downtown location. The private sector would possibly invest another $16.5 million in rehabilitation and restoration of the old Lamar Hotel facility.

• Another option consolidates the county courts and offices into five buildings with about 106,000 square feet at the former Village Fair Mall site. Costs associated with development of the mall site, along with rehabilitation costs for the courthouse, are estimated at $40.25 million. There would also be $16.5 million in private investment in rehabilitation and restoration of the Lamar Hotel building. Together, public and private investment would total $56.75 million.

A second mall option allows for private redevelopment of a portion of the mall site, along with county government uses. County construction costs in this scenario would total $46.75 million, which includes $6 million for partial restoration of the courthouse to house the county archives.

Supervisors have $7.8 million frozen to use on the courthouse from a $14 million bond issue passed in 2013. About $5 million was recently taken out for roads and bridges. 

In other presentations:

• State Rep. Charles Young Jr. (D-Meridian) touched on the question of online sales taxes.

“You look at the scale of these online companies, they’re starting to hurt Walmart,” Young said. “Technology has really advanced. I think this is well past due. The Quill decision the U.S. Supreme Court rendered is a very archaic decision. We didn’t have digital media and the Internet then and no way they could have taken into consideration sales taxes that were generated like it is today.”

• Lauderdale County Tax Collector Doris Spidle said the county collected $10.5 million in property taxes in December, 2016, and the county collected $38 million in taxes last month. So far, Spidle said $9 million has been collected in February.

• Tax Assessor James Rainey said his office will be open from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, April 1 so residents can file Homestead Exemption applications. The deadline to file is April 1.

• The two newest members of the Lauderdale County Election Commission attended the meeting. They are District 1 representative Chuck Overby and District 2 representative Consuela Naylor.  

• EMBDC’s Debby Delshad said upcoming events include Jeannie’s Place at Planet Playground opening at the plaza 4 p.m. Thursday and a Relay for Life meeting is scheduled at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the downtown Mississippi Power office, 2401 11th St.