Valley County hopes to close a deal that would expand and upgrade its courthouse operations and save money.
Last year, the county adopted its County Master Facilities Plan, which looks at building space needs to keep up with growth. The plan includes the need for more courthouse space.
Officials are working through an agreement to purchase the AmerTitle building at 700 S. Main Street in Cascade that could be used for courthouse operations. The courthouse houses the planning and zoning department, the building department, the assessor’s office, the DMV, and more.
AmerTitle building
The MFP laid out a plan that included keeping a 2004 courthouse addition and demolishing and replacing the original building and an addition from 1976. Then to add more space, the county was considering constructing a two-story, 38,000-square-foot building.
A significantly cheaper alternative, which the county is currently pursuing, would be to purchase the AmerTile building for $3.3 million. The county prosecutor’s office currently already leases space in the building. A news release says the AmerTile building “could accommodate much of the immediate and future space needs cited for a future county courthouse” in the MFP.
“Even after minor remodeling and refurbishing to meet the needs and requirements for a public entity, the $3.3 million acquisition of the AmeriTitle building could save the County $15 to 20 million over the cost of constructing a future courthouse expansion,” the news release said.
County Treasurer Johanna DeFoort called this potential transaction a “fiscally responsible way” to deal with the need for more space.
“This opportunity allows us to address space needs in a fiscally responsible way,” DeFoort said. “Not only will this save the county millions of dollars in capital costs, it will also partially mitigate the need to lease temporary facilities, easing the burden on residents seeking services as well as employees.”
The county commissioners have not made any decisions about how the current courthouse at 219 Main Street would be used if the deal goes through.
At this point, there is no timeline for the project.
