I have mixed thoughts about Rep. Bischoff’s HB 1045 which creates the “courthouse preservation advisory commission.” On the one hand, creeping government. Yet another commission when efforts are afoot to slash government. On the other hand, I think Indiana really has a lot of really great courthouses that provide an important anchor for their respective communities.
The commission would be charged with traveling to county courthouses to assess potential courthouse rehabilitation projects, including appraisal of the condition of the courthouse and rehabilitation cost estimates; providing early coordination for courthouse rehabilitation projects to encourage proper preservation practices; reviewing and providing recommendations on architectural plans for courthouse related projects; and providing county officials with information concerning funding sources for courthouse preservation projects.
I travel to 8 or 10 counties in the regular course of my practice. Most of them have excellent courthouses. Some do not. For example, Cass County courts are housed in what looks to be just another government building that conveys no particular sense of authority at all. White County is a little like that as well, but I’ll cut them major slack since their courthouse was wiped out by a tornado. These are major community resources that ought to be preserved. Whether this proposed commission will do much good is an open question.
I think that Indiana communities are blessed with some very beautiful courthouses that are the cornerstone of these communities. This commission might be a good idea for some of the counties that don’t have a good financial base to keep up/preserve their courthouses.
And then there are counties-like Lake County-that have 1970’s industrial ugly county buildings (replete with asbestos, failing HVAC systems, leaky roof, etc.) A nice “act of God” would be the best thing to happen to these buildings!
It is my understanding that this is at the request of Historic Landmarks. The commission will be made up of volunteers and is purely advisory. There should be little cost to the taxpayers, and hopefully better dissemination of information.
There was an effort a while back to preserve the Randolph County courthouse in Winchester from the wrecking ball. It is an old courthouse but is a landmark in Winchester. I remember as a kid staying at my grandparents and playing on the courthouse lawn with my cousins while my grandparents shopped in Winchester. Of course those were different times before all of the Wal-Marts, etc. changed the landscape for independent business owners. An interesting development occurred in Muncie today, due to the recount in the Muncie mayor’s race. Prior to the recount, the Democratic candidate, Jim Mansfield, was ahead by 11 votes and after the recount, Sharon McShurley, the Republican candidate, has been announced the winner by 13 votes. Apparently there was a problem in Precinct 46 in Muncie, with about 19-20 absentee ballots disqualified due to the fact that they weren’t signed off on by the Republican officials. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. There are several articles on this on The Muncie Star-Press’s website.