Commissioners approve security, electrical updates to courthouse

County Commissioners voted on Jan. 9 to do small fixes to the outdoor lighting and security cameras, and discussed a broader plan to upgrade the 90-year-old Young County Courthouse’s electrical and wireless internet systems, and with the last of the county’s share of federal COVID relief dollars. The Commissioners had planned to use some of the approximately $2 million of the American Rescue Plan Act funds left over from the COVID pandemic to relieve a potentially dangerous power load and persistent connectivity problems at the four-level courthouse, which was completed in 1932. “I fully believe we need to have this done,” County Judge Win Graham said. In the meantime, the Commissioners approved upgrades of about $6,000 for the six cameras and $5,000 for nine LED lights outside the courthouse. The repairs also included fixing the “panic buttons” throughout the courthouse - one of which recently failed in the 90th Judicial District courtroom when Judge Stephen Bristow pushed it and got no response, Assistant County Auditor Marsha Sumpter told the Commissioners. Judge Graham said the repairs should be part of broader upgrades that the commissioners have been contemplating since at least last year. “I feel like we need to upgrade the lighting, we need to rewire the courthouse,” he said. “I’m not sure it was designed for all the electrical assets we use.” Ms. Sumpter noted that the courthouse’s backup electrical system was operating at just 40 percent of capacity because of the massive electrical load. “It should not be below 60 percent,” she said. “It’s a huge drain, even with everything turned off. We don’t need to burn the courthouse down and that’s where we’re headed.” Precinct 3 Commissioner Stacey Rogers suggested getting a schematic of the electrical system and going out for bids for the new systems. “We need bids from people who deal with something this big and this old,” Precinct 4 Commissioner Jimmy Wiley said.