Justice will be served

Monroe, Hart counties move forward with new court sites

By GINA KINSLOW

TOMPKINSVILLE — When the current Monroe County Courthouse was built in 1977, Joyce Emberton, circuit court clerk, thought she would have lots of space.

And she did at first.

But now her office has outgrown its space on the first floor of the building.

“We desperately need the space,” she said.

Emberton isn’t alone. There are other offices in the courthouse that are tight.

To remedy the problem, the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts is constructing a new 32,000-square foot justice center across the street from the existing courthouse at the corner of Main and Fourth streets.

The new justice center will house Emberton’s office and circuit and district courts.

“It is badly needed,” said Judge-Executive Wilbur Graves. “The courthouse is overcrowded. It’s just as full as it can be.”

An option on the property has been obtained and land surveys have begun.

“We look forward to getting these old buildings gone and a new one started,” said Graves, who is hoping courtroom security will improve with the construction of a new justice center. “With all the entrances we have (now), it is almost impossible to secure it the way we would like to.”

Demolition of the existing buildings on the construction site is expected to take place this fall, with work on the new building beginning in the early spring of 2009.

“They’ve given us a completion date of 2010, somewhere mid-summer. We’re hoping June or July,” Graves said.

Once Emberton’s office and the district and circuit courts have moved to the new building, space in the current courthouse will then be put to better use.

“All of the offices are just overcrowded and needing more space,” Graves said. “We’ll just divide it up and allow everyone some more room.”

It is possible that a portion of the existing circuit courtroom will be used as a Monroe Fiscal Court meeting area.

“We’ve actually outgrown our fiscal courtroom,” Graves said, adding that the county’s occupational tax administrator works out of the same room where the fiscal court meets on a monthly basis. The jailer also has an office in the courthouse’s basement.

“It’s just an ongoing battle to keep ahead,” Graves said. “We’re just outgrowing the facilities we have.”

While Monroe County is just starting with its new justice center, Hart County is about to wrap up its project.

According to Judge-Executive Terry Martin, the Hart County Judicial Center is about two months away from being completed.

“They are finishing the outside of it right now,” he said.

Millwork inside the building has yet to be completed and some work is still needed on the building’s floors.

When completed, the judicial center will house the circuit court clerk’s office, court designated worker, circuit and district courts and the grand jury room.

“It’s going to be nice,” Martin said.

The new building will also provide those offices with additional space, something Rita Doyle, circuit court clerk, said she is looking forward to.

“We only have one courtroom and we have three judges and a domestic relations commissioner,” she said.

Like Emberton, Doyle said her office is also in need of additional storage space.

When the new judicial center opens and those offices move out of the existing courthouse, Martin said plans are to use a portion of the courtroom for fiscal court meetings and the rest as storage space.