The Caldwell County Project Development Board revealed three potential sites that were submitted for the proposed judicial center at a public hearing Tuesday night.
Board Chair and Judge-Executive Kota Young said the Board had received three site proposals for the new judicial center. He presented the first submission—a letter outlining three properties owned by Teresa Glass Jones at 108, 110, and 112 West Market Street in downtown Princeton.
click to download audioThe Board also received a proposal for the Butler campus, submitted by the Caldwell County Board of Education, with an appraised value of $1.98 million.
click to download audioThe third site proposal came from property owner Jenny Clark for the location at 1290 U.S. 62 West, with an initial asking price of $750,000.
No additional proposals were submitted. Attendees then had the opportunity to ask questions and offer their opinions regarding the proposed sites for the judicial center.
Janie Tomek asked whether the committee could consider other locations if these three sites were not feasible. Mark Bannister from the Administrative Office of the Courts explained that architects from Sherman Carter Barnhart will evaluate the properties to determine if they are suitable for building a new judicial center.
Former Princeton mayor Gale Cherry, who played a key role in revitalizing the downtown area alongside her late husband, state Representative Mike Cherry, believes the new judicial center should be located downtown to help keep the area thriving.
click to download audioTomek said downtown is the center of the community and urged the committee to consider it as the site for the judicial center.
click to download audioAdditionally, Roy Burris supports the downtown location, seeing it as a chance to breathe new life into the area.
click to download audioAfter additional questions and comments from the audience, Corky Mahedana with the AOC said the committee will discuss the properties at the next Project Development Board meeting, set for 6:00 p.m. on Monday, March 2nd.
The new state-of-the-art judicial center project was approved by the Kentucky General Assembly as part of the Judicial Branch’s biennial budget for fiscal years 2024 to 2026. While Caldwell County will own the new judicial center, construction and maintenance costs will be covered by the Administrative Office of the Courts through the Judicial Branch budget. The project has an estimated price tag of $33.1 million, with full state funding provided through annual debt service payments of up to $2.8 million.
