The Winston County Board of Supervisors approved emergency repairs, cleanup and closing of the area behind and to the sides of the courthouse on Tuesday, July 16.
The emergency occurred when the brick veneer on the backside of the Winston County Courthouse collapsed around 5:20 a.m. on Tuesday.
County and City of Louisville workers and officials closed off the street and parking lot adjacent to the courthouse leaving the front entrance of the courthouse as the only acceptable entrance.
“The courthouse is structurally fine,” said Winston County Supervisor District 2 and Board President Luke Parkes, after he received a verbal report from Michael Taylor of the engineering firm Pryor and Morrow and from a structural engineer with Pryor and Morrow.
Parkes noted that due to the need for quick repair and cleanup on the structure, an emergency needed to be declared so that the brick veneer did not pull parts of the molding and roof away.
After declaring the emergency, the board approved hiring Pryor and Morrow to provide engineering on the cleanup and repairs and to get two quotes for the repairs.
“The brick ties have rusted and the wall came down,” said Taylor.
The quote for repairs is for the 1964 addition of the courthouse, where the concrete building was added and brick veneer attached to the concrete.
Taylor noted the need to approach this in two phases with the first ensuring life and safety by barricading the area off to the public. Then, removing the old brick veneer that is close to collapsing and finally, begin repairs.
Supervisors questioned how much of the building would have to be repaired.
Taylor noted they would have to do an inspection on the outer walls of all of the 1964 addition. "All of it may need repair." stated Taylor.
Taylor also stated that there are no structural or foundation issues. In the era of the addition to the original courthouse, the construction did not meet present day codes and water entering the wall over time has and will continue to damage the metal items holding the brick veneer in place.
“We have to fix the courthouse, keep up with all the costs and work with the insurance to get it repaired as quickly as possible,” said Parkes.
Steve Roberts representing the county insurer, Mississippi Association of Supervisors Insurance Trust (MASIT), noted that he had contacted MASIT and they were sending an engineering firm to review and inspect the building.
Roberts also requested all documents about the demolition of the annex for review.
The Annex building demolition was in July 2018.
Annex building work
The Winston County Board of Supervisors on Monday, July 15 had accepted a $4.487 million bid on building a new Annex building.
In the Tuesday emergency meeting, Parkes questioned if the county could move forward with the contract and annex building with the collapse of the wall.
Taylor of Pryor and Morrow recommended they go ahead with the contract on the annex building and the contractor could go ahead and be addressing preliminary plans for the annex by getting needed supplies and planning for the project.
Parkes joked the demolished annex build may have been haunted due to the delays experienced over the project.
The Annex building rebuild is a FEMA partially funded project and has needed Mississippi Department of Archives and History approval on design, demolition and bidding requirements.
