The Perry County Courthouse opens after years of planning, saving, and renovating
NEW LEXINGTON, Ohio – Over a decade of saving money, planning and renovation work have culminated in a ribbon cutting ceremony in Perry County on Friday.
County commissioners, judges, Ohio State House representatives and local area residents came to the open house and ribbon cutting for the newly renovated Perry County Courthouse in New Lexington. The renovations included a new roof using locally made Ludowici Clay Roof Tile, restoring the historic cast iron staircase, and made other significant repairs.
“After two and a half years of having the courthouse closed, eight years of planning and 8 years of saving money for this project, it’s great to finally have this back open,” said Perry County Commissioner Ben Carpenter. “One thing we’re especially proud of, the other county commissioners Scott Owen and Chase Bennett and myself, is that we’ve been able to do this project completely without borrowing any money. So when we open the doors Monday, we’ll be debt free and open for business. ”
The community members attended the ceremony and toured the courthouse during a day accompanied by live music, refreshments and snacks. Some of the people moving into their new workspace were excited at the prospect of seeing people in the courthouse.
“I know that sounds kind of funny but when we were across the street over there, we were the only office department in that part of the building. So I did not see the other judges very often. I did not see a lot of attorneys, prosecutors, people just maybe in the courthouse for whatever reason to be,” said Drew Cannon, the Perry County Municipal Court Judge. “I didn’t get to see those people anymore and so it’ll be nice to get back to see people. We were kind of out in a bubble over there we didn’t get a lot of interaction so it’s just going to be nice to maybe get a little more human interaction instead of being in our own little space over there. ”
The Perry County Courthouse will officially open for court proceedings and county business on Monday.
