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County commissioners got an update from architects and engineers Tuesday about a proposed courthouse annex projected to cost about $4 million, including upgrades to the existing historic courthouse.

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The update included a ﾓno growthﾔ projection for both population in Pocahontas County, which could be below 8,000 as soon as 2020, and for courthouse records, as civil lawsuits are projected to decrease along with the population. The interim plan calls for nearly 10,000 square feet of additional space that will relieve storage problems and make the courthouse more ADA compliant.

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Architect Dan Wiley said his company had focused on six reasons the county may want to consider new and additional space.

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ﾕ eliminate crowding.

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ﾕ rectify dysfunctional or unsafe conditions.

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ﾕ improve occupant operations.

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ﾕ accomodate anticipated growth or change.

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ﾕ implement strategic vision.

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ﾕ enhancement of public service.

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Wiley said the latter may be the most important of the lot.

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As usual, the courthouse annex issue invites conflict between commissioners.

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Commission president Martin Saffer voted against seeking stimulus funds because he said he doesnﾒt know what improvements the commission should make, but believes cost projections are too much for the county to undertake given the economy. Commissioner David Fleming said he might not be sure what the commission should build, but is willing to try to obtain stimulus funding. And commissioner Reta Griffith, who began the quest for a courthouse annex in a time when the economy was flush and courthouse denizens were clamoring for more room, said sheﾒd vote to seek stimulus funding, but was reluctant to do that because it would require time and energy she didnﾒt want to waste if the other two were going to vote against it in the end.

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ﾓLet some community that wants to move forward have it,ﾔ she said. ﾓI just donﾒt have any faith in our project getting completed, other than the money Iﾒve already put aside.ﾔ

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As of December 31, the stabilization fund had $988,327.28

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The deadline for applying for stimulus funding is January 30.

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According to the report, non-mandated officesﾗthe Pocahontas County Health Department, West Virginia University Extension Services and the Pocahontas County Solid Waste Authorityﾗtake up about 2,000 square feet.

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But moving those offices doesnﾒt necessarily make budgetary sense for the county commission, either.

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Commissioner Reta Griffith said the commission underwrites nearly all of one non-mandated officeﾒs expenses, including an employee. Moving them out of the courthouse would increase operational costs, she said.

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Some audience members who attended advocated moving non-mandated offices or excess storage out of the courthouse and into empty buildings in downtown Marlinton. Griffith said because of flooding issues, the downtown area is not suited for records storage.

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ﾓThose buildings are empty for a reason,ﾔ she said.

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Her fellow commissioners seemed more concerned about the existing courthouse, which has had roof leaks since before Christmas and needs an elevator to replace the largely unused chair lift, which was put in the courthouse in the early 1990s.

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Griffith maintained that a decrease in population did not mean a decrease in records. Thanks to the second home market, mostly near Snowshoe Mountain Resort, housing structures outnumber people by quite a margin.

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ﾓWhen you compare people to structures, we each should own two-to-three homes,ﾔ she said. Griffith further noted that the countyﾒs population can more than double during big weekends at the resort.

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In other business, commissioners:

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ﾕ hired Elaine Diller as a contractor to help county coordinator Jay Miller with college classes for Pocahontas County.

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ﾕ settled the issue of the community corrections van by allowing it to be traded for a vehicle worth less than $15,000.

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Commissioners will meet again next week in regular session.

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