FAIRMONT — Martin County commissioners on Tuesday heard from Jonathan Loose of Wold Architects, as well as members of the Justice Center Study Committee, who presented the board with findings and options concerning the future of Martin County’s law enforcement center and historic courthouse.

Loose noted the criteria for conducting the study included several key goals. These ranged from keeping facilities welcome and accessible to the public; and improving security, maintaining services and anticipating the needs of the county for the next 20 years or more.

The study found several deficiencies with the current structures, due, in part, to age, as well as changing needs. One of those deficiencies has to do with security.

“The setup for the existing security building now is such that there’s a lot of different groups mixing,” Loose said. “So you might have somebody that’s checking in for a probation issue, and you might have another person who’s coming to that same exact spot for a domestic violence case. So you have this huge spectrum of people coming into the building, and not necessarily good separation or security for where everybody needs to go.

“The best example is where you have an incarcerated person in the jail who needs to get to the courtroom. The route they have to take to get there leaves the sheriff at risk, and it leaves the jury and some of the other folks in the building at risk because there’s not an easy way to get from the jail into the courtroom. It mixes a lot of different people and presents a pretty serious security risk.”

The study also found that two full jury courtrooms are needed, as are more private rooms for victims and witness needs. In addition, space is lacking for the Sheriff’s Office and Fairmont Police Department. Of note was that current lobby spaces are not ideal for either customer service or security; support spaces such as conference or interview rooms are needed; and more personal areas are needed.

Loose noted the courthouse roof is nearing replacement age; historical windows will need to be replaced; the parking lots are in need of repairs and resurfacing; and there are some remaining lighting and efficiency upgrades needed.

Then there’s the jail. According to the study, projections support an increase from the existing 32-bed facility to about 64 beds. In addition, transport and staffing costs continue to climb, and current jail spaces no longer meet Department of Corrections requirements.

A handful of options also were presented. One is to build a new justice center off-site to house the jail, sheriff, police, courts, corrections and the county attorney. That option would cost an estimated $41.5 million.

Another option would be to build a new law enforcement center and jail off-site, with plans for future improvements to the current security building, at a cost $34.9 million.

A third option would be to simply construct a new jail off-site, with the security building operating “as-is.” That option would cost $18 million.

Finally, a fourth option presented the idea of renovating and adding on to the current security building. The estimated cost came in at $22 million.

With those hefty cost estimates in mind, the board was left to discuss the procurement of funds for any of the potential solutions.

Bill Fahey, Northland Securities and financial consultant for the county, was present to discuss the issue.

“I have had some time to spend with lobbyists at the Capitol,” Fahey said. “There is a high probability that we’re going to see a very large bonding bill session, despite some negative projections. My recommendation to the board is that we get our House rep and our senator and we let them know that we want, for Martin County, $5 million for the smaller building and $10 million for the larger building as part of the bonding bill.

“This would be in the form of a grant, not a loan,” he noted.

“Every penny of the whole thing is going to be paid back with tax dollars in one fashion or another,” Fahey continued. However, the sheer amount of money that we’re dealing with here will represent the largest amount of money that we’ve borrowed for our own purposes, so this a really significant issue.”

Commissioners said they appreciated the work behind the study, and will discuss the issue more in the future. However, Sheriff Jeff Markquart noted that doing nothing is no longer an option, a sentiment shared by the board.