14 News, The Tri-State's News and Weather Leader-Hawesville breaks ground on courthouse

Hawesville breaks ground on courthouse

By Ben Garbarek - bio | email | Twitter
Posted by Rachel Folz - email

HAWESVILLE, KY (WFIE) - In Hancock County, officials broke ground Monday on a new green courthouse in downtown Hawesville.

Officials say it will be the most environmentally-friendly courthouse in the Commonwealth.

The last time Hancock County broke ground on a courthouse, Abraham Lincoln was president.

Now Hancock county will soon have a new, environmentally-friendly courthouse which could be Kentucky's first LEED-certified courthouse.

Officials say the new courthouse will be four times the size of the current courthouse.

Those working in the old courthouse say the difference between new building will be night and day.

"I have worked in the old building and we have no security," Circuit Court Clerk Noel Quinn said. "We have a baseball bat behind the counter. That is our security right now."

The current building was built during the Civil War and not very spacious.

Some say space is an issue during trials too.

Quinn told us the lack of privacy is a problem. "If attorneys need to meet with a client, they have to meet in the hallway, in the restroom. There's no confidentiality."

Officials are hoping to find a new use for the courthouse in the future.

The new courthouse will cost about $13 million and is scheduled to open in about a year.

The old courthouse cost just $21,000 to build back in 1865.

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