Pulaski County Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan Origer presented the Pulaski County Commissioners with an update on the Pulaski County Courthouse renovation project last week.
He said a steering committee met with primary consultants
“I don’t know that we made a lot of substantial progress yet in this first meeting on most things, but we did get a good sense of who needs to do what next to get the ball rolling,” said Origer.
Origer mentioned that there was an extensive discussion on plans for employees and visitors to go in and out of the courthouse.
Origer continued, “One of the more complicated balancing paths on the project is historic preservation versus single point entry versus ADA compliance versus having enough egress for fire code compliance. So, what it sounds like the plan will be is that the primary single point of entry will remain the north entrance on the main floor up the steps with ADA compliance north side, lower level.”
He noted that there will more logistics to iron out as designs are completed.
The east-west entrances will either be eliminated or exit only, and an employee entrance may be featured on the lower level of the courthouse on the west side.
Parking will also be a concern, but there is a proposal to request parking on U.S. 35 by engaging in conversations with INDOT and coordinating with INDOT further when work is done on Main Street to maybe include more parking spaces in design plans.
Origer will be talking with department heads about individual concerns before the next steering committee meeting.
Meanwhile, the Pulaski County Commissioners and Pulaski County Council members will meet in joint session tonight where they are anticipated to hear from Coroner Jon Frain concerning a 2021 report and a uniform request, EMS Director Brandon DeLorenzo will continue the discussion on the PTO time for returning employees, and Nathan Origer will have various updates. The Pulaski County Election Board is on the agenda, and the joint members will also review the emergency closure procedure in the handbook, and consider an EMS truck purchase.
The joint session will begin at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the regular council meeting.
During the council’s regular session, they will hear from Sheriff Jeff Richwine who will present the annual report from the Justice Center, Origer will offer discussion on additional appropriation for professional service and staffing, while Councilwoman Kathi Thompson will present a resolution for consideration. The council members will continue discussions on what challenges to solve this year, and make various board appointments.
Both meetings will be held at the Pulaski County Highway Garage at 1131 N. U.S. 35 in Winamac.
