By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
The move-in is on.
Ellis County District Court employees are moving back into their permanent home as a 13-month remodel project winds down at the Ellis County Courthouse.
Project site superintendent Mike Wilson of MW Builders, Kansas City, was on his hands and knees late Wednesday morning as he finished installing a vinyl runner at the base of the long counter in court clerk’s office. Other MW employees were installing the access controls for card readers on doors to various offices.
“We’re just fine-tuning now, finishing the small stuff, and cleaning up as we go,” Wilson said. Workers from other companies were busy in the courtrooms installing video and sound systems.
The courtroom of 23rd Judicial District Judge Glenn Braun underwent the most renovations, according to Wilson, who calls it his “favorite room.”
“We had to remove two-foot-thick limestone vault walls to make the jury box. Those were load-bearing walls holding up the third floor ceiling,” he explained. As a result, several ceiling beams had to be added. “We spent more time in here than anywhere else.”
Other major work included removal of the old heating and cooling system and installing a modern HVAC system.
“We had to cut through 18-inch thick limestone walls to install the air ducts. This is the biggest remodel project I’ve ever done,” Wilson said.
Wilson will be on hand for Monday’s ribbon cutting and open house. The project, started in Dec. 2014, has required many modifications along the way. Wilson has taken it all in stride, staying in constant contact with Ellis County Commissioner Dean Haselhorst, who became the volunteer construction liaison.
“I love Hays–the people and the weather,” claimed Wilson, a native of Long Beach, Mississippi. “It’s one of the better places I’ve worked.
“Dealing with Ellis County hasn’t felt like a chore. I felt like I was helping them get what they need in this building.”
Starting Monday, what has been the main entrance of the courthouse building since it was built–the west side facing Fort Street–will be permanently locked, and become an emergency exit only. The public as well as employees will now access the building from the 12th Street parking lot on the building’s south side.
Notification signs of the change are posted on the west doors, which have often been unlocked during the remodel process. “We’ve had people coming in those doors all along,” Wilson laughed, “even after they stood there and read the sign to go around the building.”
Kearney Movers, the company hired by the county to move most of the court’s equipment and furniture, began the process last week. Court staff are also working to finish the work of transferring everything from their temporary home at the former N.E. W. building on south Commerce Parkway back into the renovated courthouse at 1209 Fort Street.
Ellis County District Court Administrator Phil Fielder said Monday the court system will still hold hearings at N.E. W. through Thursday afternoon, but the courts’ calendars have been cleared and will be closed Friday.
Courts will also be closed Mon., Feb. 1, for the open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony which starts at 10 a.m. Building tours will continue until 8 p.m.
According to Fielder, the first jury trial in the courthouse is scheduled for Wed., Feb. 3.
The Hays Police Department and the Ellis County Sheriff’s Department will remain at the former N.E.W building until the jail portion of the remodel project is completed.