The Daviess County Council gave their OK Wednesday to a proposal from the County Commissioners to solve the county’s office and storage space shortage by purchasing the Old National Bank building on Washington’s Main Street for $90,000. Councilman Mike Sprinkle noted the space issue has been a problem for the last 16 years, but no one has been able to come up with a viable solution. Currently the County is renting storage space for state mandated records, and with the addition courts and state mandated offices, the court house is running out of space. Already, the County Extension and County Health offices are located in houses across the street from the Courthouse, and those buildings are beginning to have issues. Council member Jo Arthur said a new annex is projected to cost between 15 and 20 million dollars.
Commissioners President Michael Taylor told the Council that projections were that the Auditor, Treasurer, Assessor, Recorder, and likely the Health and Extension offices would be moved to the new Government Center and the Courthouse would become entirely a judicial center housing the three county courts, along with the prosecutor, probation, and clerk’s offices. Daviess County Economic Development Director Ron Arnold told the Council the proposed purchase would save the taxpayers money and would help Washington’s downtown area.
