Warren County departments are expected to reopen in a limited capacity Thursday as they continue moving into the new administration building.
Commissioners said they have been impressed with how the relocation of the offices has gone this week.
Those offices were closed the first three days of the week. But on Tuesday, commissioners said most of the relocated offices should be able to handle inquiries from the public, although “some will have limited services” available.
The county offices affected by the move are the emergency management agency, health department, assessor, collector, planning and zoning, sanitarian, surveyor, county commission, county clerk, treasurer and recorder of deeds.
“Most will be functional,” Southern District Commissioner Hubie Kluesner said.
Commissioners will be in session Thursday morning in their new chambers.
They complimented employees from Fry-Wagner who are moving the office equipment and files from the courthouse.
“I am very impressed with their courtesy and the amount they have moved,” Kluesner said. “If you start unloading boxes, they start elbowing you out of the way.”
Construction on the county’s new 36,670-square-foot, two-story building has been ongoing since October 2010. The new county facility is located along Highway 47 and Mockingbird Lane in Warrenton.
The $6.5 million building project is being funded through the county’s capital improvement tax. Two grants totaling $227,745 are covering expenses to construct and outfit the emergency management agency portion of the new building. Commissioners have said the new county facility was necessary to alleviate crowding at the courthouse and to provide space for an additional courtroom.
An open house has tentatively been scheduled for Thursday, June 14. As part of the event, the public will be invited to tour the new administration building.
All of the court-related offices, such as the sheriff’s department and prosecutor, will remain at the county courthouse.
Once the non-court related offices are finished moving, renovations to the courthouse are expected to begin. County officials plan on having a jail dorm constructed to house work release prisoners and the area where the commission chambers and county clerk’s office is located will be transformed into a third courtroom.
