Courthouse efforts to take a year, county judge says

HOPE — Getting about 40 employees moved from the old Hempstead County courthouse building to a new, refurbished one in downtown Hope will take about a year, said County Judge Jerry Crain.

He made the remark after voters approved a temporary 1 percent sales tax for the project.

Complete, unofficial results showed 1,439 for and 1,204 against the proposal in Tuesday’s election.

The split was about 55% to 45%.

“I was hoping for a wider margin, but the main thing is that we can move the courthouse out of this building and into a safer building,” Crain said.

Late last year, the Hempstead County Quorum Court approved placing the tax measure on the ballot. The money generated — limited to a twoyear period — will be used to continue renovations on the Farmers Bank and Trust building. When the transition is complete, the building, constructed in 2003 at 200 E. Third St. in Hope, will house courthouse operations.

Besides helping to pay for the bank’s renovations, some of the money collected will be used to contain and section off the current 1939-vintage courthouse at 400 S. Washington St.

During their first public meeting Jan. 21 at the DeAnn Fire Station, county officials attributed the need for containing and limiting access to the old courthouse to black mold developing in the building for perhaps as long as 20 years.

At a January public meeting, Hempstead County Sheriff James Singleton spoke to the same concerns Crain voiced Tuesday night. “The most important reason why this tax measure needs approval is for the health, safety and welfare of our residents who still come out to conduct business at the old courthouse every day,” he said.

Singleton estimated that more than 39,000 resident visits were made at the courthouse during 2019.

Work on securing the 17-year-old bank building for the new courthouse location started in 2017 when the county purchased the building for $1.5 million.