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Pieces falling into place for annex closure
Aiming for a possible Nov. 1 closure of the Putnam County Courthouse Annex, the Putnam County Commissioners are now faced with the question of where to move the county offices housed in the building at 209 W. Liberty St.
Commissioners have not officially voted to close the annex, but devoted a special meeting after Tuesday's regular meeting to the subject of solutions "if" the annex closes.
For three of the five county-run offices, a solution has already taken shape. The Department of Health, Planning and Zoning Department and Emergency Management Agency have examined the option of moving into office space at the Putnam County Hospital.
The next domino to fall would be the Purdue Extension Office, a problem voiced by Commissioner Gene Beck when he brought up the idea of closing the annex last month.
Tuesday's special meeting took he and fellow commissioner Nancy Fogle to the building owned by Jedele Enterprises at 64 N. U.S. 231 as a possible location for the Extension Office.
In one key way, the building would be ideal for Extension, in that it is just across the highway from the Putnam County Fairgrounds. Additionally, it is the same location the office occupied before moving to the annex.
The problem for the office, though, is the current configuration of the building, which does not have enough adjacent space to house the office. Extension Educator Mark Evans expressed his concerns over this problem during the tour.
Building owner Bob Jedele, who also has his McDonald's office in the building, said the building could possibly be reconfigured to accommodate the Extension Office.
Evans said his office currently occupies 2,700 square feet in the annex, and would need 2,000-2,500 for a new location to be a viable option.
Another option discussed, although not toured on Tuesday, is the old Butcher Block grocery store building on Tennessee Street behind Kentucky Fried Chicken. West Central Solid Waste, another current annex tenant, already has plans to occupy part of this building.
The only other displaced county-run office would be the Veterans Affairs Office, but two other tenants -- Rural Transit and the American Red Cross -- would also be in search of new office space.
The decision is not official, but the question of the annex's closure seems like more of a "when" than an "if."