The Marion County Board of Supervisors has approved the first stage of a redesign process for the county courthouse; but this will be just the first step in a long and potentially expensive series of tasks necessary to keep the courthouse in use.

The board voted Tuesday in favor of having Ethos Design Group begin planning on accessibility to the Marion County Courthouse. They will be asked to study replacing the wheelchair lift with a ramp, adding a more modern elevator to replace the current one, and other necessary maintenance matters.

This alone could take up to four years, and Board Chairman Mark Raymie tells KNIA/KRLS News more will need to be done in the next ten years in order to keep the courthouse serviceable.

“Obviously we have an aging structure here with the courthouse; our maintenance department under Cal Stevens has done an excellent job keeping up with this structure, and I think it’s a beautiful courthouse,” Raymie says.

“But we do have to plan and prepare for what is coming down the road, and part of that is making sure that structurally, and access points and all those things, are ready not just for today but are ready for five years from now.”

Of immediate concern are the wheelchair lift at the south entrance, which is prone to breakdown; and the elevator, for which replacement parts need to be made to order because this type of elevator is no longer manufactured.

In other action, the county has finished reclaiming all of the senior nutrition equipment it intends to keep from the kitchen at the Knoxville Senior Center.