Fresh off the Knox County Board meeting last month in which $1 per ton from the landfill was committed to the building fund, last night the building committee reaffirmed plans for courthouse repairs.
Committee Co-Chair Greg “Chops” Bacon says the estimated cost of major work that will need to be done in the next four to five years at around $1 million.
The landfill resolution is expected to bring about $90,000 per year into the building fund.
Masonry on the outside and electrical on the inside are two top priorities.
Bacon says unequivocally fixing the courthouse fire escape is at the top of the list of projects.
“Come hell or high water we’ve got to do something,” Bacon says. “I mean if we have to bite the bullet and go in and build a brand new one we have to do something.”
Bacon also says the committee is working on putting a resolution before the full board to put the nearly $670,000 from the sale of Love’s Truck Stop into the building fund.
He tells WGIL if they put that money into the general fund it would be a one year “band-aid”.
“If we put it into the Building Committee it’ll effect the county for years,” Bacon adds.
If the funds are available also under consideration is creating a new road to make the Knox County Nursing Home more accessible.
The estimated cost of that would be around $250,000.
