Steve Minton, rural Westmoreland, asked (Commissioner) McKee how she felt about a proposal to raze the old county courthouse as part of a long range Facility Master Plan recently conducted for the county. Minton posed the same question to Altenhofen and Commissioner Pat Weixelman last week when McKee as absent. “It’s complicated,” McKee replied. “It has to have function. It just can’t be saved. It has to function and we know it’s going to cost a considerable amount to make it functional. With enough money, anything is saveable.” ...

Steve Minton, Westmoreland, asked commissioners to go on record as to how they felt about demolishing the county courthouse as part of a 20-year facilities plan. Both commissioners listed their status as “maybe,” pending further research and the financial feasibility of refurbishing the courthouse versus building a new structure. ...

The commissioners heard a plea from Dorothy Campbell, a long-time Westmoreland resident, to preserve the county courthouse. “Once you tear down these stone buildings that are historic, they’re gone forever,” Campbell told commissioners. “I think our courthouse is like the people of Westmoreland—plain and sturdy and it will stand forever.” Razing the 1884 courthouse and replacing it with a new consolidated office building was the recommended scenario (one of six) proposed in a 20-year Master Facilities Plan completed recently by BG Consultants. Campbell said she is looking into starting a petition to save the courthouse and also suggested the commission allow county voters to decide the structure’s future. “We appreciate the input, we really do,” Commission Chairman Pat Weixelman told Campbell. “We’ve got a lot to study.” ...

A 20-year Master Facilities Plan recommends more than $12 million in new buildings and renovations to current facilities owned by Pottawatomie County at Westmoreland. The plan, developed by BG Consultants, combines a 2015 space needs assessment and a 2016 life cycle assessment of county facilities....