A new Manitowoc County committee will explore the viability of plans that call for spending $25M-$30M on courthouse renovations
MANITOWOC - Manitowoc County Board President Tyler Martell is seeking citizens to volunteer on a new ad-hoc committee that will examine the prospective renovations to the courthouse dome.
"The main goal is to look at this proposed project ... and figure out, one, if we're going to do it or are we going to do it in parts or just do maintenance?" Martell said. "Then, if we decide we're going to move forward with the project, we have to work out the details, the timing, putting bids out, figuring out how we pay for it."
The proposed renovations to the courthouse, which include restoration of the dome, window replacements and a new HVAC system, are likely to cost $25 million to $30 million. The money would come through long-term borrowing, which would take the county 20 to 25 years to pay off and would likely increase property taxes by 5% or 6%.
"Next to the emergency dispatch, the courthouse is our most important building," Martell said. "... In some ways, it's an office building, but in another way, it's more than that. Courthouses, for a long time, have been like the capital building for counties. There's that reverence one feels for the government when they go into the building."
The courthouse has been a landmark of downtown Manitowoc since 1906 and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1981.
"The courthouse itself is a focal point in Manitowoc County and we have to protect it and renovate it as necessary so that it lasts for another hundred years," Manitowoc County Executive Bob Ziegelbauer said in a September 2022 interview with the Herald Times Reporter.
The county board approved the creation of the ad-hoc committee at its Jan. 17 meeting. In addition to several county supervisors, the committee will also include one of the three circuit court judges for Manitowoc County and two county citizens.
Once the members are selected, the committee will look at all available information and recommend a best course of action to the county's Public Works Committee.
The restoration of the dome, along with replacement of all 120 exterior windows, is the third phase of a three-phase plan created in 2004 to address the restoration of the courthouse exterior.
The other two phases included replacing the roof and copper balustrade, along with replacing the exterior stairs and installing a ramp in 2010; and tuck-pointing the masonry on the entire building in 2012.
Of the three projects, the renovations to the dome would take roughly 70% of the $30 million estimated cost.
In June, Strang Architects published a Dome and Facility Improvements Study for the Manitowoc County Courthouse. According to the study, condition of the courthouse tower was worse than expected as a result of water leakage.
"The project intent would be a refurbishment of the historic construction to best prepare the tower for the next 100 years," the study states.
However, several citizens have spoken at recent county board meetings expressing concern about spending millions of dollars on a project they view as unnecessary.
Martell said he welcomes that input and wants to make sure renovations on the dome are necessary before greenlighting the project.
"I have mixed feelings on it," Martell said. "I think it's important that we preserve the building, not just as a matter of history and symbolism, but the practicality as well. A lot of people work in that building."
Martell said he hopes the Courthouse Dome Advisory Committee will be able to give him a clearer picture of how dire the repairs are and how feasible the restoration project would be.
"Is this the right time [for renovation]? I don't know, and I'm hoping the committee can help answer that question ... I look at the current economic environment and I think it's a lot of money," he said.
Citizens interested in being selected for the Ad-Hoc Courthouse Dome Advisory Committee can send an email to Martell at tylermartell@manitowoccountywi.gov.
Contact reporter Alisa Schafer at aschafer@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @AlisaMSchafer.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Manitowoc County courthouse renovation plans to get closer review
