Three departments to move out of Courthouse

Jul. 3—Rogers County's Oklahoma State University Extension Service planning and maintenance departments will vacate the county courthouse in the next year or so.

Rogers County is one of the fastest-growing counties in Oklahoma. With more people comes more demand for county services, and with more demand for services comes the need to hire more employees. The county has contracted with Tulsa-based architectural firm BKL, which designed the current courthouse, to figure out how to accommodate this growth.

"The growth is just huge, which is exciting for the county, but has caused some issues inside the courthouse," said Jenni Hammock, a principal at BKL. "So [the county] selected us to do a conceptual study to help them figure out who should move and grow in which direction."

District 3 Commissioner Ron Burrows said renovations would probably cost about $4 million. But he said that doesn't include the cost to renovate the building the Rogers County Planning Commission will occupy.

Another reason the county needs more space is for social distancing in workspaces, Burrows said.

Burrows said a rise in crime has caused District Attorney Matt Ballard's office to grow. Hammock said Ballard's office will move into the space OSU Extension occupies now.

Donna Patterson, OSU Extension's Rogers County director, said the Rogers County Commissioners made the decision for the Extension service to move out. It's not a part of county government, Patterson said, but the county is obligated to provide it a space.

"Were we asked? Not necessarily," Patterson said. "But we are team players, and as long as they provide us a space, they're meeting their contract needs."

The county purchased the Dale R. Marlar Law Office at 501 W. First St. to house OSU Extension. Patterson said although moving out would mean the Extension service will no longer be in the "beautiful courthouse," the law office will have more space and can accommodate a sign, making the service more visible.

Next door to the Marlar law office is Bill Higgins' law office, which the county purchased to house the planning commission. Not far away, at 327 S. Cherokee Ave., is a former auto repair shop that will accommodate the Rogers County Maintenance Department.

Leslie Hamilton, administrative assistant to Director Doug Presley, said moving out will give the department needed workspace. She said when the county bought the Cherokee Avenue building, the commissioners asked the maintenance department if they'd like to take it.

Hamilton said the building would need more office and storage space before the department can move in.

Patterson and Hamilton did not know for sure when their departments would start moving out. Patterson said it would likely be up to a year before OSU Extension leaves the courthouse, and Hamilton said it could be up to two years for maintenance to vacate.

Hamilton said the maintenance department has observed growth in Rogers County through the increase in buildings it maintains. Since she started at the department four years ago, she said, maintenance has gone from stewarding 15 buildings to about 20.

Presley, maintenance director, said he wasn't sure the county could plan far enough ahead to keep up with the growth it's experiencing. The courthouse was built in 2014, and Presley said he thought it would need to double in size to last another 10 years.

"I don't know how you can guesstimate what's gonna happen because it's just constantly growing," Presley said. "I was out driving the country and stuff over last weekend, and seeing all the houses going up in what were hayfields in Rogers County is just astounding."

Rogers County is sixth in population growth in Oklahoma, said Meggie Froman-Knight, executive director of Claremore Economic Development.

The population of Rogers County was about 89,000 in 2014. Ten years later, about 100,248 people are living in Rogers County, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. The county's population increased by 5.3% from April 2020 to July 2023 alone.

Burrows said the county is still working out how it will renovate the courthouse. Most of the work will happen on the first and second floors, Burrows said, but a vacant courtroom on the third floor will be renovated to accommodate people waiting during jury selection.

BKL is working on the design for the renovations. The firm presented preliminary designs to county staff a few weeks ago, and Burrows said there was about "95% consensus" on the design meeting each department's needs.

"[The commissioners are] really close to being able to have [BKL] go deeper in design, and once we give them the green light to do that, it could take them as as much as nine months to work through the detailed plans, the mechanical, the electrical, the HVAC," Burrows said.

Once the plans are finished, Burrows said BKL will put together a bid packet with recommendations for construction and construction management companies to hire.