The Washington County Board of Supervisors is looking into moving their meeting space to the Orchard Hill complex and remodeling the basement level of the courthouse.

The supervisors approved a contract with Martin Gardner Architecture for assessment of county office space, and to move forward with seeking bids for remodeling of the floor that includes the current supervisors’ meeting room, county attorney’s office, and break room, and Building #3 at the Orchard Hill Complex on Lexington Boulevard. County Attorney John Gish explained the purpose of his office renovation, “I wanted to improve privacy and security. The county attorney’s office space is split up into two different sections and some of that is accessible to the public and other county employees, so I just wanted to protect that space through this renovation. The second thing is our office space, much like other parts of the courthouse, suffers from deterioration so I have pieces of the wall and ceiling dropping onto our floor pretty frequently.”

Gish mentioned that he intends to pay for most or all of the renovations of his office through revenue generated from his collections program. Supervisor Richard Young brought up what the courthouse will do for a staff break room as that area would be inaccessible during the renovation, to which Supervisor Marcus Fedler replied that sometimes you have to “break a few eggs to make an omelette.” County Auditor Dan Widmer added that they are not required by law to have a break room. Martin Gardner submitted proposals for assessments at the courthouse and the Federation Bank building at costs of $6,200 and $7,400, respectively. The board approved to enter an agreement for the courthouse.