Work continues to make the Pulaski County Courthouse more accessible to those with disabilities. Specifically, maintenance workers have been making updates to the basement restrooms, such as the addition of marble vanities.
The effort hit a bit of a roadblock, due to the fact that the men’s room door couldn’t be widened due to the building’s structure. But now, Maintenance Supervisor Jeff Johnston says he’s come up with a solution. “The plan is, in order to make those bathrooms down there completely ADA-compliant, is to turn the two bathrooms, the men’s bathroom and the women’s bathroom, into four individual unisex bathrooms that meets all of the requirements,” he said during Monday’s county commissioners meeting.
The commissioners approved the plan Monday. Johnston plans to request an additional appropriation to fund the project during next week’s county council meeting. “So at this time, I’ve basically stopped work in the bathrooms,” Johnston explained. “They’re usable, but I’ve stopped work in there until this gets approved.” He says that other cosmetic work in the basement should wrap up next week.
Meanwhile, Johnston also plans to ask the council to fund upgrades at the County Office Building on Riverside Drive. One of those would correct an issue in the Building Department’s offices that came up during a recent inspection by the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s Office. “Part of the fire code is you can’t have an extension cord used as a permanent fixture, and we did over there,” Johnston told the commissioners. “Part of the problem is the electrical system in that building isn’t anywhere where it should be. I’d like to eventually run three more circuits into his office. That’s something, again, we can do ourselves.”
Additionally, Johnston says the building’s exterior is deteriorating and needs repairs.
