Work continues to turn the former Winamac Masonic Lodge into a county morgue and office building. Maintenance Supervisor Jeff Johnston told the Pulaski County Commissioners Monday that his department has completed quite a bit of work, but there’s still a lot more to go.
“I’m still waiting on two estimates to come back, as far as moving the morgue out there and then some construction work that’s got to be done,” he said. “The Maintenance Department is going to handle a lot of the interior construction work ourselves, but there’s certain things that we just don’t have the equipment to do. So once I have all of those numbers and stuff, I’ll send those to you guys so can see what they are.” Johnston said he also has estimates for moving the Emergency Management Agency’s radio equipment to the old Masonic Lodge.
He stressed to the public that the county did not buy the building solely for the Coroner’s Office’s use. Sheriff Jeff Richwine has suggested moving some files there, to free up space for a work release facility in the Justice Center.
Johnston also asked the commissioners to think about an official name for the building. Commissioner Kenny Becker simply joked that it will always be the Masonic Lodge.
