TEXARKANA, Ark. - During the next few weeks, officials will continue to forge ahead on renovating and refurbishing the Miller County Courthouse, following massive damage caused earlier this year by pipe freezing during a winder storm.
County officials recently hired the Texarkana, Texas-based Contech Inc. to serve the general contractor for getting the flood damage repaired and renovated. Contech will also hire subcontractors, said Miller County Administrative Assistant Carla Jenkins.
While the county's insurance will pay for restoring the courthouse to its pre-flood condition, remodeling assorted area within the building will need to be put on the county's tab and taken care of either by general funds or capital improvement funds, she said.
Interior work on the buildings first three floors, along with the basement, will be the primary task and although a starting date has yet to be set, Jenkins said the goal is to have the courthouse back open and functioning for the public, by the spring of 2022.
As for the courthouse's basement, which housed the county's Prosecutor Attorney's Office, much of the flood water stopped and collected there, prompting requests for some remodeling along with the restoration. Office officials there, estimated the remodeling costs to be about, $116,222 - something that will need to be paid for by the county.
As for the first floor, some lighter remodeling has been requested from the county's tax collector, tax assessor, treasurer and judges offices.
The second floor's main courtroom will need to undergo restoration, mainly with less expensive plaster material replacement.
Work on the third floor will include restoring the smaller courtroom there as well as some of the judicial offices.
The county's Quorum Court will have to vote on any and all remodeling requests, which may cost the county about $254,000 overall, Jenkins said.
As for an overall cost Jenkins said Contech's estimation is about $2,777,000.