The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
All are invited to celebrate open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony
By Adam Broderick
The long-awaited Gunnison County Courthouse rebuild and overhaul is finally complete. Demolition of the old courthouse, which was built in 1881, began in March 2014. The county commissioners had decided the time had come to address pressing security flaws and replace failing systems of the old courthouse, plus adhere to modern-day building codes.
So ever since December 2013, all staff and operations have been based out of temporary offices spread throughout the city and Gunnison County.
Now that construction is complete, the public is invited to celebrate with an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony this Friday, May 29, from 5 to 7 p.m.
According to a press release from the county dated May 15, “The ribbon cutting will take place at 5 p.m. at the main entrance to the building, followed by light refreshments in the lobby. Attendees will be encouraged to peruse all of the publicly accessible portions of the building to learn more about the project and become familiar with the amenities and office locations.”
The new building adds space to the courtroom, staff offices and meeting rooms, plus heightens security measures with amenities like one-way mirror courtroom viewing windows and private ingress/egress for suspects and victims (to enhance safety of public and employees).
Accessibility has also been improved to meet standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)—or installed, that is, since ADA requirements didn’t exist when the original building was built in the 19th century.
Total project expenses hit about $16.7 million (including items like architectural services, demolition of the old building, furniture, etc.). Of the project total, the county borrowed $10 million through a bond issue; the rest came from savings, current revenues and $1.325 million in grants. County manager Matthew Birnie said approximately $4 million will benefit the valley via direct local expenditures using local contractors and the money visiting workers spent at restaurants, hotels, etc.
Some interesting features of the new courthouse include the refurbished lobby safe, which dates back to the early 1900s, 134-year-old bricks and roof lumber salvaged from the original courthouse. A 10,000-pound marble monument sign donated by the quarry in Marble will live out front. The new building is also much more energy-efficient than the old. “A new geothermal heating system that cost $325,000 uses 40 wells that reach 300 feet deep, and in 12 to 15 years the cost will be paid back and heating and cooling will then be free (with the exception of running circulation pumps),” Birnie said.
The new county and district courts will be fully operational on Monday, June 1.
For more details about the project and to watch time-lapse videos of the demolition and rebuild, go to http://www.gunnisoncounty.org/courthouse.
