April 29, 2001

Courts could be located at new site

The Seneca County Commissioners have talked about rebuilding on the site of the old Hanson Building in order to maximize the insurance payment.

The Hanson Building, which was owned by the county and was being used to house the Teen Center, was destroyed by fire Jan. 8.

It has been stated that to get a replacement cost settlement in the neighborhood of $2.6 million, the county would have to rebuild on the Hanson site, which is on the south side of East Market Street across from the courthouse.

Three weeks ago we editorially encouraged the commissioners to negotiate a cash settlement much higher than the estimated $600,000 payment discussed by the commissioners ... as close to the $2.6 million replacement amount as possible.

What county residents are saying they'd least like to see is the construction of a new $2.6 million replacement for the Hanson Building, still leaving a dilapidated courthouse that needs millions of dollars of restoration and remodeling.

What they'd like to see is the $2.6 million used as part of the money to be put into the courthouse.

If that isn't possible, maybe it's time to seek and consider other options.

One we've heard is to employ the $2.6 million to construct a building to house the courts on the Hanson site.

To take that a step further -- since offices other than the courts have been moved to new quarters -- a total replacement for the courthouse could be built on the Hanson site. Even though this would require additional bonded money, it would be less expensive than fixing the courthouse.

The courthouse and the old jail then could be razed. On the short term, the site could be used for a combination of a small park and parking area. In the long run, it would be available for any future county building needs.