There were smiles from the edge of 22nd Avenue to the Lauderdale County Courthouse this past week.

The Board of Supervisors swept their bids for re-election just four days after – probably not so coincidentally – they revealed their conceptual plan to build a new government complex at the old Village Fair Mall site that would replace the courthouse and other county office space.

As a long-time proponent of finding a solution to the well-documented, dangerous conditions that exist at the historic downtown courthouse, we congratulate the supervisors on identifying a solution and for their re-election to another four years in office.

Unfinished business and unanswered questions, however, prevent us from cracking the sparkling beverage and joining in the celebration.

First, as we’ve stated many times, the county is risking the health and safety of visitors to the courthouse and its employees who work among mold, asbestos and lead paint that’s both visually evident to anyone walking through the building and documented in a 2018 study. Additionally, numerous grand juries have identified a litany of safety concerns.

We can’t imagine any modern, large-scale, private-sector employer not taking immediate action, both to make its employees and customers safe and to reduce the risk of litigation.

County supervisors and department heads state that workers don’t want to relocate twice and are content to remain in the courthouse another two or three years while a new building is constructed. We appreciate that desire, but believe it’s wrong-headed.

Leadership requires making the right decision to ensure safety, especially when that decision may be unpopular.

Second, we again state the supervisors should reduce their executive session time and discuss the courthouse and all public issues in public. The county has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in the last three years researching and planning solutions for a decades-old problem. Taxpayers will be asked to spend tens of millions more before the problem is resolved. Lauderdale County residents need to hear the supervisors’ discussions in public and be part of the conversation.

As for our questions …

The supervisors boast of getting a great price of $1.25 million for the 39-acre Village Fair Mall property. Why did the county wait until after the sale to find out the price of removing asbestos from the old mall? If we were purchasing a house, we would have had a home inspector identify potential problems and estimated costs before completing the sale.

Supervisor Jonathan Wells provided a rough estimate last month of $35 million to build the new facility. Does that come from Belinda Stewart Architects’ 2016 estimate of $30 to $40 million? Is current architect LPK Architects providing the same estimate?

Supervisors say they will sell off excess land from the Village Fair Mall site for private use. Have any developers expressed interest in purchasing that property?

Rather than “a new courthouse” the Village Fair Mall site is being referenced as a site of a new Lauderdale County Government Complex. What are the supervisors’ plans for the current courthouse and the county annex? Do they have prospective buyers who have other ideas for those properties if they no longer are needed for public use?

How will the move affect downtown businesses that rely on government workers and visitors to downtown?

The drift toward a government complex at the top of 22nd Avenue solves many problems and isn’t necessarily a bad idea. We appreciate the movement toward a solution. We believe, though, that proposals and decisions need to be aired thoroughly in public.

And, most of all, we believe there needs to be greater urgency to moving people out of the unsafe courthouse.

As Supervisor Josh Todd stood beneath a sign that reads, “Coming soon…Future home of the Lauderdale County Government Complex,” he said, “We won’t let mold grow on that sign.”

Sadly, the mold continues to grow in the current courthouse as county employees toil among it.