Aiken County officials differed in their budget needs for the upcoming 2015-16 budget year, but spoke in unison over a growing concern for each of them - the need for more space.
At Council's annual budget work session Tuesday, County Probate Judge Sue Roe, Clerk of Court Liz Godard, and Second Solicitor J. Strom Thurmond Jr. pointed to the lack of space in the Aiken County Judicial Center on Park Avenue. Roe said the state of the historic courthouse is a concern of hers and her staff. Godard said staff is "basically sitting on top of each other."
"It's evident their (other municipalities) governing bodies, No. 1., have the resources to do the necessary repairs (on their courthouses), which we may not have at this time," Roe said. "But hopefully we will have in the future."
Aside from space needs, Roe said, paint is peeling off the walls, there are issues with leaky roofs and because the carpet is "so thin and so worn and so old," there is probably mold and mildew underneath the carpets.
"At this time, I urge you (Council) to think about making our courthouse back to what it was initially, and to let it reflect the pride you have in it and that I have in it, and hopefully, what most citizens have in it."
Aiken County Administrator Clay Killian said the courthouse is like many other County-owned buildings, with the exception of the new County Government Center - old.
"A lot of what we have is beyond its design capabilities," Killian said. "The courthouse has had all that we can do to it; we're limited because it's historic. We added onto it in the '80s, but it is an old structure that has issues. It's still just amateur in how we're going to find resources to do something about it."
Roe recommended that probate and family courts and the Clerk of Court's two offices remain in the courthouse. Beyond that, she said, "I don't feel strongly about anybody else" staying.
Council member Andrew Siders asked Killian on Tuesday whether any analysis has been done on the current state of the courthouse. Killian responded that staff "do it all the time" and said "we know the issues."
"Right now, we have no ideas yet for the courthouse; it's a matter of what we do long-term with the courthouse and we're not doing an interim fix for that," Killian said. "Strom (Thurmond) mentioned Tuesday he could take the north wing of the Aiken County Library, and that's a potential because we do have Sales Tax money to do that. ... In our lifetime, we have to do something. The courthouse is maxed out; it's beyond maxed out."
On Tuesday, several other officials made their budget requests before Council. Requests included additional employees for the Aiken County Detention Center, a reclassification of employee grades for the Treasurer's Office and additional security cameras for the courthouse, requested by the Clerk of Court.
Maayan Schechter is the local government reporter with Aiken Standard. An Atlanta native, she has a mass communications-journalism degree with the University of North Carolina Asheville.