The first steps to converting the former State Bank building into a county administration building were taken by the Cowley County commission during a regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday morning.
A $5,000 architectural services agreement with Gordon and Associates was approved by the commission. The building is directly south of the courthouse where a new jail is under construction.
The agreement will provide the preliminary work to get cost estimates of the different options available to the commission before deciding where to locate county offices in the three-story building, according to County Administrator Leroy Alsup.
One option would be to block in where the drive-thru lanes are currently located. Once commissioners determine what options are affordable, a floor plan can be designed, Alsup said.
The county doesn’t do a lot of projects. Offices have been in this courthouse since 1963 and should remain in the new administration building 40 to 50 years.
“So, it’s better to plan… for the future,” Alsup said.
The architectural firm designed the State Bank building and still has the designs available. Alsup hopes to have the new designs within two or three months.
County officials originally planned to move offices before the jail construction began, then later decided it wouldn’t be necessary to make the move before construction began. In addition, funds originally designated to pay for the renovation of the bank building were needed for the second phase of the jail project which was moved ahead of the original schedule.
Once cost estimates are available and commissioners determine who goes where, they will have to develop a plan to fund the renovation. Johnson County officials have expressed interest in housing some of their inmates in the new jail and that would generate some income, according to Alsup.
County commissioners also Tuesday turned down an application for a cereal malt beverage license from Bernard Berning for the “Medicine River Steakhouse”, 25869 61st Road. Berning lives in Wichita. State law requires he live in the county.
