Courthouse renovation starts next month

Flathead County is moving ahead with a $2.44 million renovation of the 108-year-old main Courthouse.

The county commissioners on Monday authorized advertising for construction bids.

Construction is estimated to cost $1.9 million, but other expenses such as architectural and engineering fees, building permits and related fees and a 10 percent construction contingency push the project cost to $2.44 million, County Administrative Officer Mike Pence said.

Construction is expected to get under way in February.

“The main focus is public safety,” Pence said. “The second focus is accessibility, then energy efficiency and historic renovation.”

The project involves restoring the grand stairway to replicate original construction and preserving the exterior facade, which includes replacing damaged trim and installing rain gutters.

The aging building will be brought up to Americans with Disabilities Act standards by adding an elevator and handicapped-accessible restrooms on each floor.

“It’s amazing that we have come to this point in time without having been required to provide full access with an elevator,” Pence said.

Other improvements include the installation of energy-efficient windows and various structural modifications to ensure building safety and stability.

A key aesthetic piece of the renovation is replacing the windows on the front of the building that have been covered for years. That will allow light to once again stream into the grand staircase area and second-floor landing that’s a gathering spot and focal point in the historic building.

To restore the staircase to its original glory, some office and storage space will be torn out so the stairs ascend on both sides to the third floor.

The three-story Courthouse — with lower-level stone walls three and a half feet thick — passed the test for structural soundness some time ago and recently was upgraded with a new heating and cooling system.

County employees who work in the Courthouse will be relocated (see related story) until the renovation is completed by the end of August.

Most of the current offices and personnel will continue to be located in the Courthouse when the renovation is finished.

The Clerk and Recorder and staff for the Plat Room, Recording, Elections and Geographic Information System departments will be on the entire first floor and east half of the second floor.

The Finance and Human Resources departments will be on the west half of the second floor. The commissioners’ offices and meeting chambers will be located on the third floor, where GIS now operates and where District Court originally operated.

Three information technology staff members who have been located in the Courthouse will move to the lower level of the Flathead Justice Center next to the information technology offices there.

Funding for the project will come from four sources: $50,000 from a state historical preservation grant; $126,300 from the federal Department of Energy to install energy-efficient and historically aesthetic windows; $210,000 from the Flathead County Museum Board; and just over $2 million from non-property tax dollars set aside over the past seven years in the county building fund.

Pence said payments in lieu of taxes — federal payments to local governments that help offset losses in property taxes due to nontaxable federal lands within their boundaries — make up most of the county’s share of funding for the project. Property tax revenue will not be used, he stressed.

In addition to restoring the landmark building to its former glory, displays of historic Flathead County photographs and artifacts will be set up in the foyer on all three stories.

The county spent $100,000 on the courthouse and adjoining jail when they were completed in 1903, and struggled to get voter approval. It took two votes to finally get the OK for the sale of $55,000 in bonds.

Bell & Kent Architects of Helena designed the courthouse in Chateauesque style with a steeply pitched roof and a brick facade with contrasting horizontal belts of concrete and parapeted gable dormers.

Another phase of the Courthouse campus renovation will be the removal of the two annex buildings.

The west annex building, where the commissioners’ offices and chambers now are located, will be moved to the fairgrounds eventually for use by the 4-H and Montana Extension Service staff.

The east annex that now houses the 4-H and Extension personnel will be moved to an undetermined location, Pence said. There currently is no use specified for the east annex building.

Once the annex buildings are gone, the county plans to use the space for landscaping and additional parking.

The county late last year completed a $784,000 makeover of the former Blue Building, now called Courthouse West.

Two years ago the commissioners decided to shelve plans for a new, $4 million administration building and instead use some of the county’s building fund to improve both the Blue Building and main Courthouse.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.