Courthouse plans take shape
By April Baumgarten
Engineers took Mercer County commissioners on a virtual tour Wednesday through their future courthouse, and at the end was an estimate for $9.5 million.
“We know we can get that number down and if you are willing to allow me a little leeway I can get that number as close to $9 million without sacrificing I think the things that are really important to you,” Scott Fettig of Klein McCarthy Architects said. “I think we can keep some things.”
The Bismarck Company and Contegrity Inc. Construction Management Services were both hired by the commission during a meeting in Stanton to oversee the courthouse project. Renovations will connect the Law Enforcement Center to the Mercer County Courthouse, making it easier to transfer prisoners from the jail to the courtroom.
“I think it is time to go with it,” Commissioner Frank Bitterman said. “I feel if we wait too long it will get sour on us.”
The original estimates came in upwards of $10 million. County commissioners previously asked the Klein McCarthy to bring that number below $9 million.
