By ALINE CARAMBAT
A $400,000 renovation of the historic Madison County Courthouse on the Canton square was approved by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday utilizing a federal grant.
The board approved a three-phase plan, which entails repairing moisture damage, drainage, piping /down spout replacement, and fixing plaster damage that has occurred inside.
Belinda Stewart Architects of Eupora, which specializes in historic restoration, will oversee the repairs.
Chancery Clerk Arthur Johnston said the board had been waiting to hear if the grant would come through before moving forward with the repairs.
“This is going to be addressing major issues causing the continued deterioration of the interior of the courthouse,” Johnston said.
“Leaks from rainwater are coming through the downspouts off the roof and they actually run inside the walls. This will enable us to repair that and to address other leaks and moisture inside the main courtroom – as well as addressing some heating, air-condition, and piping issues too.”
In December, architect Belinda Stewart discussed the renovations and estimated it could take as little as six months to complete the project if everything fell into place.
“”This is such a wonderful building, it’s a very significant building,” she said. “It’s one of only a few pre-civil war courthouses that is still in the state and still in operation and we are honored in being able to help restore it.”
Stewart added that new flashing on the roof and the installation of air conditioning controls will be new. Portions of the building’s piping will also need to be repaired.
“We think that at least parts of the piping are original to the building. Some of it might have been modified here and there but there are portions of it that we think are original.”
Johnston said that the federal grant has recognized a previous $480,000 as a match to what the county spent making repairs several years earlier to the structure’s cupola and roof.
The county will be receiving an extension of the grant which was set to expire in March.
“We’ve been told today that we will have a two-year extension, but two years goes by very quickly when you’re talking about construction projects of this magnitude. We know we have to get moving and that’s why the board went ahead and authorized this (Tuesday) to guarantee that we will get the extension,” Johnston said.
