Courthouse renovations near completion

The renovations will improve the courtrooms and
administrative offices.

By D.A. WILKINSON

VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU

LISBON — Renovations to the Columbiana County courthouse are coming to an end, although it might not look that way.

The two Common Pleas courtrooms on the second floor are still full of wood as workers complete the trim.

Amy Ondrejko, the court administrator overseeing the project, said last week the wood has been moved from one courtroom to the other, depending on what work was being done in a given space.

The project is expected to be finished on time and on budget. The work was expected to be completed by the end of July. Last-minute touches could take the work into early August.

Since renovations began, the commissioners agreed to replace all the windows in the building. That part of the project won’t be done until October.

The two projects will cost a total of $3.5 million. Special court fees will help pay for courtroom work as well as new heating and cooling and the new courthouse roof. The commissioners will pay for the windows with a debt-reduction levy the county already collects.

The courthouse was built in the 1870s. An addition was added at the back in the 1930s. But time and a leaky roof left the courtrooms worn and often blazing hot or freezing cold.

“We’ve been working with the Ohio Historical Preservation Society,” Ondrejko said.

That group, she said, wanted to keep the renovations similar in appearance to the courthouse changes made in the 1930s.

Ondrejko said that the original hickory wood used in the courtrooms was saved and reused.

What was discovered

But one feature that dates to the 1870s that no one knew about was incorporated into the final design.

At some time, false ceilings were put in the courtrooms to conserve energy. When the ceilings were being taken down during the project, workers discovered several circular grates in each courtroom’s ceiling.

Mike Nicholson, the carpentry foreman for Brock Builders of Boardman, said the grates would allow hot air to rise into a space between the second and third floor as a form of cooling. Workmen said that the grates were made by forcing plaster into a mold.

The new heating and cooling ducts have been hidden inside molding. The old grates have been sealed from the inside with metal to prevent heat loss, and painted.

Looks aside, the project made better use of the space.

In the courtrooms, the court reporter will now sit in front of the judge’s bench. Jurors will have a larger jury box.

Jurors had complained about the deliberation rooms. They will have larger rooms, as will court workers and the judges, who had been in tiny offices. The new layout also allowed for the addition of a conference room and a secure room to hold prisoners.

Several small arches were added in the hallway between the two courtrooms. They mirror larger arches in the first-floor hallway.

The work has gone smoothly, according to Ondrejko.

“We’re very grateful. All the contractors have been super,” she said.

wilkinson@vindy.com